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 February delivery lost 22 cents to $69.24 on the New York Merc, while Brent for February lost 31 cents to $72.63 (all figures in this para U.S.). Western Canadian Select traded at a discount of $12.30 to WTI, up from a discount of $12.50. Natural gas for January lost nine cents to $3.65. The TSX energy index added 5.10 points to close at 258.98.

International oil and gas producer Vermilion Energy Inc. (VET) added four cents to $12.77 on 3.52 million shares, as investors debated whether this morning's acquisition announcement was an early Christmas present or a lump of coal. The company has agreed to buy Ken McCagherty's Westbrick Energy, a private gas producer in Alberta's Deep basin, for $1.07-billion. The deal will add 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day (about 75 per cent gas) and 1.1 million acres of land.

President and chief executive officer Dion Hatcher hailed the deal as a "significant step forward in Vermilion's North American high-grading initiative." The assets are in the same neighbourhood as Vermilion's existing assets in the Deep basin and contain enough inventory to hold production stable for 15 years, providing $110-million in annual free cash flow, by Mr. Hatcher's estimate. He dangled the potential for even better gains from "significant operational and financial synergies ... [that] have not been factored into the economic evaluation but are expected to be realized over time."

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