Interactive Investor

The Oil Man: Caza, Borders & Southern, RockRose Energy

WTI $38.32 +4c, Brent $39.26 +12c, Diff $0.94 +8c, NG $2.00 +2c

It's the last day of the quarter and, with expiry and some window-dressing, this is not the day for traders to get brave all of a sudden. With WTI up 4 cents and Brent up 12, it was natural gas that took the riband climbing to $2 for the first time for many months.

I would expect today to be modestly weaker on the physical front as, barring any special situations, orders will be minimal; investors who are still surprisingly long crude oil may take the opportunity to close one or two positions.

Yesterday the Energy Information Administration stats showed another build; admittedly 2.3 million barrels was below the 2.8 million forecast, but stocks remain at their peaks and little can be done to change that yet.

Refiners are trying hard; utilisation is now 90.4%, an eleven-year high, but April can be an unforgiving month. Nevertheless gasoline demand is strong - the gasoline draw of 2.5 million barrels proved that - but stocks are still relatively high.

Finally, the Reuters survey of OPEC production came out and showed that in March, output was up by 100/- barrels per day on February, primarily down to the expected increase in Iranian exports.

Sundry results

Today is also the deadline for a number of companies to submit their results and several have sneaked in under the wire.

Borders & Southern have posted a net loss of $2.6 million (£1.8 million) and cash of $14 million, but the key here is the farm-out process which is "being impacted by the low oil price environment". A resource upgrade for Darwin is tucked away in the numbers as well.

Caza finals are irrelevant, as the company was financially restructured around the year end and Talara controls 95.3% of the equity.

With revenue and production down, the loss is as expected, but 1P and 2P are up - again, no surprise, but the oil price collapse took its toll on Caza.

Readers regularly remind me that I was too bullish on the company and that's fair enough, but the portfolio is exceptionally well put together in some of the most sought after postcodes in the US and, to be honest, I think that it could still fly.

RockRose Energy has its maiden figures today, having arrived on the market in January when it raised £4.4 million. CEO Andrew Austin is well known to many in the industry and he is targeting onshore and offshore production, power generation and infrastructure deals.

Nothing to do with results, but I was interested to see that the Weatherford placing closed well oversubscribed; the company issued 115 million shares at $5.65, which was 20 million more than they first offered. Some investors must think that we are somewhere close to the bottom….

Finally, a mention to all those in the office of the director of mineral resources in the Falkland Islands Government who are blog readers and helped with the recent analysis of the situation re: the United Nations.

And finally…

The England T20 machine powers on with yesterday's victory in the semi-final against New Zealand, many people's favourite in Sunday's final against India or the Windies and on genuine high quality, no-holds-barred cricket.

Adios Gary; the worst-kept secret in world football concluded yesterday with Señor Neville getting the genuine Spanish elbow…

This article is for information and discussion purposes only and does not form a recommendation to invest or otherwise. The value of an investment may fall. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.