This item is part of Stockwatch's value added news feed and is only available to Stockwatch subscribers.

Here is a sample of this item:

by Stockwatch Business Reporter

West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery added 83 cents to $80.06 on the New York Merc, while Brent for July added 71 cents to $83.98, both benchmarks notching a weekly gain (all figures in this para U.S.). Western Canadian Select traded at a discount of $14.50 to WTI, down from a discount of $14.30. Natural gas for June added 13 cents to $2.63. The TSX energy index added 3.83 points to close at 296.32.

Western Canadian wildfires have claimed their first barrels of the season. Gas producer Pieridae Energy Ltd. (PEA) added 1.5 cents to 48.5 cents on 140,800 shares, despite announcing the shut-in of its Ekwan gas field in Northern British Columbia because of fires burning in the Fort Nelson and Sierra areas. The field was producing about 750 barrels of oil equivalent a day. This represents only a fraction of Pieridae's first quarter production of 34,600 barrels a day, virtually all of which came from Alberta.

(Within Alberta, the closely watched Fort McMurray fire continues to burn, but rain and calmer winds have slowed its expansion and approach toward the city. Roughly 6,600 residents ordered to evacuate on Tuesday have now heard that they may be able to return after the long weekend.)

The remainder is available to Stockwatch subscribers.
Sign-up for a FREE 30-day Stockwatch subscription and SEE NO ADS