by Stockwatch Business Reporter
The TSX Venture Exchange fell four points to 1,229 on Monday. There were no new listings or new qualifying transactions in the shell sector, and fewer traders than usual. One of Frank Giustra's shell graduates, Petroamerica Oil Corp. (PTA), down one-half cent to 20 cents on 3.5 million shares today, has caught the market's attention after last week's press release about its Las Maracas-4 well in the Llanos basin of Colombia.
After the market closed last Thursday, Petroamerica reported its Las Maracas-4 well encountered 65 feet of net oil pay. On Friday, the company closed up four cents to 20.5 cents on 12.47 million shares, the most volume in a day since early 2011. Ralph Gillcrist, the company's executive vice-president, told interviewer Tommy Humphreys that he regards the news as "potentially a company-maker for a company of our size," and that it could help the company move from being a 1,500-barrel-a-day operation to 3,000 or more. He said that if there are additional discoveries, the company could reach 7,000 barrels a day in 2013.