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by Stockwatch Business Reporter

West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery added 69 cents to $78.28 on the New York Merc, while Brent for September added 66 cents to $82.37 (all figures in this para U.S.). Western Canadian Select traded at a discount of $14.70 to WTI, down from a discount of $14.10. Natural gas for August lost eight cents to $2.04. The TSX energy index added 2.02 points to close at 282.42.

And they're off. Quarterly financial season in the oil patch has begun in earnest, starting yesterday after the close with Grant Fagerheim's Whitecap Resources Inc. (WCP), up 37 cents to $10.31 on 6.54 million shares. It cheered "strong operational results" that led to record production of 177,300 barrels of oil equivalent a day in the second quarter. This was higher than analysts' predictions of 169,500 barrels a day, in turn boosting cash flow to 71 cents a share, up from analysts' predictions of 66 cents a share.

Management was particularly pleased with its "rigorous" efforts in the Musreau area of the Alberta Montney. It began drilling eight wells there late last year, but had to wait to bring them on production until the completion of a 20,000-barrel-a-day battery (where oil is separated from water and gas). Whitecap finished building the battery in March and teased in April that early production results were "higher than anticipated." Today it specified that the eight wells have each averaged 1,600 barrels a day over the first 90 days, nearly 20 per cent more than its internal model.

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