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by Stockwatch Business Reporter

U.S. markets were closed for American Thanksgiving. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery added 16 cents to $68.88 in electronic trading on the New York Merc, while Brent for January added 45 cents to $73.28 (all figures in this para U.S.). Western Canadian Select traded at a discount of $12.10 to WTI, down from a discount of $12.00. Natural gas for January added nine cents to $3.29. The TSX energy index added 1.91 points to close at 280.50.

Oil traders cooled their heels during a predictably quiet trading day, with U.S. markets closed. Here in Canada's oil patch, there were no early Black Friday deals for insiders to scoop up shares, but there was the next best thing: in-the-money options. Jim Riddell's Paramount Resources Ltd. (POU), down four cents to $31.02 on 142,000 shares, watched six directors and officers spend a total of $1.53-million over the past two weeks buying 130,000 shares through option exercises -- and without immediately flipping those shares back into the market. Flipping would be lucrative given the options' average strike price of $11.75. (Some of the options were exercisable at a mere $3.84, almost a 90-per-cent discount to today's close of $31.02. Rather understandably, there were two insiders -- not included in the above six -- who indulged in some option flipping, netting themselves a tidy $2.38-million.)

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