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by Stockwatch Business Reporter

West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery lost 56 cents to $69.36 on the New York Merc, while Brent for May lost 40 cents to $73.63, but both benchmarks still managed to notch their third consecutive weekly gain (all figures in this para U.S.). Western Canadian Select traded at a discount of $11.80 to WTI, up from a discount of $12.60. Natural gas for May added 14 cents to $4.06. The TSX energy index lost 2.90 points to close at 271.36.

Oil sands producer Cenovus Energy Inc. (CVE) lost 43 cents to $19.73 on 11 million shares, as today's drop in oil prices cut short the stock's all-too-brief trip above $20. Shareholders were in a much happier mood this time last year, when the stock was bounding blissfully up to $30. It fell just short of the mark, peaking at $29.96 almost exactly a year ago, before embarking on a long slide to as little as $17.42 earlier this month.

One anchor on the stock has been its downstream refining operations, with quarter after quarter of weak spreads, low market capture and operating margin shortfalls (with negative operating margin of $396-million in the fourth quarter alone). Cenovus's downstream unit is now in the news again, following a Reuters report that the company will "shut multiple units for six weeks" at its 160,000-barrel-a-day refinery in Toledo, Ohio. The shutdown will affect about one-third of capacity.

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