The first quarter of 2024 saw increasing trends in Brent Crude and West Texas Intermediate prices, attributed to ongoing tensions from the Russia-Ukraine conflict and global economic conditions. OPEC countries’ production cuts and Russia’s commitment to reduce exports also supported prices.
Despite volatility, prices remained stable between US$70– US$87 per barrel. Natural gas prices, however, sank to multi decade lows due to warmer-than-expected weather and ample supply.
Year-to-date gain: 222.7 percent; market cap: C$396.4 million; share price: C$1.07
Sintana Energy, an oil and gas exploration and development company, operates across five highly prospective onshore and offshore petroleum exploration licenses in Namibia and Colombia.
Share prices saw early year tailwinds after the company released two updates on exploration activity in Namibia’s Orange Basin. During the exploration campaign of Petroleum Exploration License 83 (PEL 83) two significant light oil discoveries were made in January.
Shares rose to a quarterly high of C$0.58 at the end of March.
Year-to-date gain: 31.8 percent; market cap: C$8.6 billion; current share price: C$31.57
MEG is an energy company with a focus on in situ thermal oil production in Alberta’s southern Athabasca oil region. Utilizing innovative enhanced oil recovery projects, including steam-assisted gravity drainage extraction methods, the company aims to increase oil recovery responsibly while reducing carbon emissions.
Shares of MEG spent the three-month session trending higher reaching a Q1 high of C$31.48 at the end of March.
MEG’s production outlook for 2024 remains positive, with plans to optimize operations and enhance capital efficiency. Additionally, the company announced a capital allocation strategy focused on debt reduction and returning capital to shareholders.
Year-to-date gain: 29.4 percent; market cap: C$912.9 million; current share price: C$11.79
Obsidian Energy is an intermediate-sized oil and gas producer, with a portfolio of assets that yield approximately 32,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. The company’s primary operations are in the Peace River, Cardium, and Viking regions of Alberta, Canada.
In February Obsidian announced the completion of the first half 2024 capital program, highlighting ongoing development in the Willesden Green/Pembina assets in Cardium and exploration and appraisal activity in the Clearwater and Bluesky formations in Peace River.
Additionally, Optimization of Viking wells drilled in late 2023 yielded strong production results.
Share reached a quarterly high on March 31 and were trading for C$11.26.
Year-to-date gain: 27.25 percent; market cap: C$51.92 billion; current share price: C$96.91
Calgary-based Imperial Oil is a prominent Canadian energy company involved in exploration, production, refining, and marketing of petroleum products. With a history spanning over 140 years, Imperial operates diverse assets across Canada, including oil sands, conventional crude oil, and natural gas assets.
Additionally, Imperial initiated steam injection at Cold Lake Grand Rapids, pioneering the industry’s first deployment of a solvent assisted SAGD technology. Downstream operations performed strongly, with refinery capacity utilization reaching 94 percent, following the successful completion of the largest planned turnaround at the Sarnia site.
The company returned more than C$2.7 billion to shareholders, including the completion of a substantial issuer bid. Additionally, Imperial increased its quarterly dividend by 20 percent, from C$0.50 to C$0.60 cents per share. Lastly, the company released its annual corporate Sustainability report, highlighting its sustainability focus areas and achievements.
The work that began in mid-March is expected to take three months.
Shares marked a Q1 high of C$94.69 on March 31.
Year-to-date gain: 23.94 percent; market cap: C$99.4 million; current share price: C$1.76
Condor Energies concentrates on the exploration, development, and production of natural gas resources across Turkey, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. Notably, the company is currently building Central Asia’s inaugural liquefied natural gas facility.
Condor shares rose to a quarterly high of C$2.76 on February 20.
Securities Disclosure: I, Georgia Williams, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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