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by Stockwatch Business Reporter

West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery lost 17 cents to $78.45 on the New York Merc, while Brent for August lost 13 cents to $82.62 (all figures in this para U.S.). Even with today's drop, both benchmarks easily notched a weekly gain (even if it came after three weekly losses in a row). Western Canadian Select traded at a discount of $13.40 to WTI, down from a discount of $13.30. Natural gas for July lost eight cents to $2.88. The TSX energy index lost 1.91 points to close at 272.35.

Jeff Tonken's Alberta Montney producer, Birchcliff Energy Ltd. (BIR), lost 18 cents to $6.00 on 1.85 million shares. Today it patted itself on the back for seizing "optimization opportunities" in the Pouce Coupe area. In other words, it has tweaked its long-term gas processing agreement with AltaGas Ltd. (ALA: $30.47), with the amendment allowing Birchcliff to take over operatorship (though not ownership) of AltaGas's Gordondale plant. The plant handles gas that comes entirely from Birchcliff anyway. Self-operatorship should lead to lower operating costs, decreased downtime and maximized recoveries of high-margin NGLs (natural gas liquids), according to a cheerful Birchcliff.

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