Partners give these gas stocks an edge

Article Excerpt

These two juniors have done better that most recently by taking on partners to pay a big part of their drilling costs. That leaves them in a great position to rise even further when natural gas prices turn upward. BELLATRIX EXPLORATION $6.97 (Toronto symbol BXE; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (403-266- 8670; www.bellatrixexploration.com; Shares outstanding: 107.9 million; Market cap: $756.5 million; No dividends paid) produces natural gas (70% of output) and oil (30%) in Alberta, B.C. and Saskatchewan. Bellatrix continues to enter into joint ventures to speed up the development of its Cardium shale oil deposits in west-central Alberta. It has agreed to sell a 50% interest in its producing wells in the Ferrier and Willesden Green area to Daewoo International Corp. and Devonian Natural Resources Private Equity Fund for $52.5 million. These wells produce 268 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Bellatrix’s total output averaged 22,102 barrels of oil equivalent a day (including gas) in the three months ended June 30,…