Pick of the Junior Oil and Gas Stocks: Oil & gas stocks for aggressive investors

Article Excerpt

BIRCHCLIFF ENERGY $5.35 (Toronto symbol BIR; SI Rating: Speculative) (403-261-6401; www.birchcliffenergy.com; Units outstanding: 112.4 million; Market cap: $601.3 million) develops, produces and explores for oil and natural gas in northwestern Alberta’s Peace River Arch area. Birchcliff owns oil production and drilling prospects at Worsely, Alberta. The company’s oil assets complement its gas assets. Birchcliff can now pursue either oil or natural gas opportunities at Worsely, depending on market conditions. Birchcliff’s other main project is its Montney/Doig horizontal gas drilling program at Pouce Coupe, British Columbia. This involves drilling wells sideways, or at an angle, to reach isolated pockets of oil and gas. Drillers also use this technique to follow reservoirs that are spread out in narrow layers. Horizontal drilling works well in situations where conventional drilling is either impossible or too costly. In the three months ended December 31, 2008, Birchcliff’s cash flow per share was $0.22. That’s up 4.8% from $0.21 a year earlier. However, it’s down 35.3% from $0.34 in the…