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by Stockwatch Business Reporter

West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery soared $3.18 to $77.91 on the New York Merc, while Brent for September added $2.09 to $80.72 (all figures in this para U.S.). Western Canadian Select traded at a discount of $17.20 to WTI, down from a discount of $12.90. Natural gas for September lost nine cents to $2.04. The TSX energy index added 8.56 points to close at 290.26.

Oil prices jumped on geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, after the top Hamas political leader was killed in an air strike in Tehran, an attack for which Hamas and Iran blamed Israel and vowed revenge. Prices also got a boost from bullish U.S. supply data. In its latest weekly data release, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that domestic crude inventories fell by 3.4 million barrels last week. Analysts were expecting a smaller decrease of 1.1 million barrels.

Here in Canada, Paul Colborne's Alberta- and Saskatchewan-focused Surge Energy Inc. (SGY) added 22 cents to $7.04 on 2.25 million shares, as strong oil prices muscled out shaky financials. The company released its second quarter financials late yesterday and posted a steep net loss of $64.6-million (down from a $14-million profit a year earlier). A one-two punch of $96.4-million in impairment charges (likely on non-core gas assets) and a $28.8-million loss on an asset sale knocked Surge deep into the red.

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