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by Stockwatch Business Reporter

The TSX Venture Exchange closed up 5.78 points to 751.09 Monday, ending the month up 29.85 points. Brian Bayley and Murray Sinclair's 26th capital pool shell, Quendale Capital Corp. (QOC: suspended), plans to acquire an Alberta oil and gas junior called Prairie Storm Energy Corp. for the shell's qualifying transaction. The shell, which has 3.36 million shares issued, will issue 143.75 million shares to its target's shareholders.

Prairie Storm is a Calgary company that produces oil and gas in the Alberta Cardium formation, near the border with British Columbia. In the second quarter, it produced 2,143 barrels of oil equivalent a day (53 per cent liquids, 47 per cent natural gas). Liquids, specifically oil and natural gas liquids, yield higher margins than conventional natural gas. Among the 15 or so companies also operating in the Alberta Cardium is InPlay Oil Corp. (IPO: $0.18), which produced 3,200 barrels of oil equivalent a day in the second quarter. There is also Bonterra Energy Corp. (BNE: $1.51), which produced 10,200 barrels a day. A bigger producer, Obsidian Energy Ltd. (OBE: $0.58), drew nearly 25,900 barrels a day. One of the things weighing down Obsidian's stock is its net debt of $496-million (as of June 30). After markets closed today, Obsidian released an open letter addressed to Bonterra, proposing a merger through an all-share transaction.

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