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by Stockwatch Business Reporter

West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery added 64 cents to $86.47 on the New York Merc, while Brent for January added $1.02 to $93.67, rising on a U.S. economic report signalling that inflation may finally be cooling down (all figures in this para U.S.). Western Canadian Select traded at a discount of $29.10 to WTI, up from a discount of $29.22. Natural gas for December added 37 cents to $6.24. The TSX energy index lost 11.25 points to close at 257.62.

Canadian energy stocks largely rose with prices. A prominent exception was Vermilion Energy Inc. (VET), which tumbled $2.36 to $27.25 on 13.3 million shares, after releasing its third quarter financials. Although these showed production of 84,200 barrels a day and cash flow of $2.95 a share -- consistent with analysts' predictions -- those numbers were overshadowed by a looming windfall tax in Europe and a suspension of Vermilion's share buyback program.

The windfall tax began making headlines in September, when the European Union proposed it as a "crisis contribution" or "solidarity contribution." The preferred term in other circles was tax raid. Under the proposal, oil and gas producers in Europe would have to pay a 33-per-cent tax on "surplus" profits in 2022 and perhaps 2023, with "surplus" defined as being 20 per cent higher than a company's average taxable profits from 2019 through 2021 (even though this period includes two pandemic profits where profits were scarce at best). Despite heavy criticism from industry executives and observers, the EU passed the proposal on Sept. 30.

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