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by Stockwatch Business Reporter

West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery added 93 cents to $79.13 on the New York Merc, while Brent for May added 92 cents to $82.96 (all figures in this para U.S.). Western Canadian Select traded at a discount of $17.10 to WTI, down from a discount of $15.60. Natural gas for April lost three cents to $1.93. The TSX energy index added a fraction of a point to close at 268.32.

Jim Riddell's Alberta Montney and Duvernay producer, Paramount Resources Ltd. (POU), tumbled $3.88 to $27.48 on 2.89 million shares. Investors fled upon hearing a phrase they have come to dread from Paramount: "revised guidance." These revisions inevitably occur in the unhappiest direction. In this case, Paramount is once again trimming its targets for this year's production and free cash flow.

The new guidance calls for production of 103,000 barrels a day and free cash flow of $235-million. For context, the original figures were 120,000 barrels a day and $650-million. Paramount tempted fate by unveiling those numbers way back in November, 2022, relying on the footnotes to warn shareholders that such faraway predictions were quite preliminary and "subject to change." It soon had many reasons to change them and good cause to regret sharing them in the first place. Over the following months, the free cash flow target bumped its way down to $620-million, then $465-million, then $445-million, and then $350-million, before landing at today's level of $235-million. The production target got only slightly less dented, taking just one prior hit to 112,000 barrels a day before dropping to today's level of 103,000.

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