Business
Canadian oil & gas sector produces remarkable results in Q3 2005
Canadian oil & gas sector produces remarkable results in Q3 2005.
About this update from Touchstone Exploration Inc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\n\nCALGARY, Dec. 13 /CNW/ - It would have been difficult for investors to go\nwrong in the Canadian oil and gas sector during the third quarter of 2005,\nresearch released today shows.\nAn analysis by Iradesso Communications, a Calgary-based investor\nrelations firm, reveals that the median total return during the third quarter\nfor conventional energy trusts (including capital gains and distributions) was\nan impressive 25.7 percent - up a striking 22 percentage points over the\nsecond quarter 2005. Of the 34 trusts included in the report, not a single\ntrust produced negative returns in the third quarter. Topping the list was the\nnewly-minted Fairborne Energy Trust (TSX: FEL), which boasted an increase of\n74.3 percent. Trilogy Energy Trust (TSX: TET) was another top performer with\ngains of 59 percent, while Harvest Energy Trust (TSX: HTE) also saw strong\ngrowth with an increase of 44 per cent.\nThe median increase in junior company share prices was 29 percent, up\n27 percentage points over the previous quarter. Petrobank Energy and Resources\n(TSX: PBG) and Berens Energy Ltd (TSX: BEN) were the leaders among companies\nincluded in the report, each shooting up 109 percent. Find Energy Ltd.\n(TSX: FE) also proved to be a major player, with an increase of 103 percent.\nOf the 121 junior oil and gas companies and trusts included in Iradesso's\nquarterly comparison, known as the iQ report, more than 97 percent produced\npositive returns for investors between July and September of this year.\nIradesso President Peter Knapp says such remarkable growth is part of the\ncyclical nature of the oil and gas industry.\n\"The kind of investment returns realized in the third quarter cannot\nlast,\" Knapp says. \"In fact, stock prices have pulled back in the past two\nmonths, potentially to cycle forward again sometime soon.\"\nThe third quarter of 2005 also produced some strong gains in overall\nproduction. Of the companies appearing in the report, Birchcliff Energy\n(TSX: BIR) saw the greatest increase in production, leaping up 217 percent to\n4,626 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), from 1,460 boe/d in Q2 2005.\nSince 2003, the iQ Report has tracked the performance of publicly-traded\nconventional energy trusts and junior oil and gas companies that operate\nprimarily in Western Canada. To be included in Iradesso's researc...