A penny saved may be a penny earned for individuals but corporation are expected to spend money to make money for its shareholders. Today, SmallCapPower has shortlisted five Canadian small cap energy companies that have spent a tremendous amount of money on oil & gas exploration over the past year, while not delivering the returns investors likely hoped to see.
Tamarack Valley Energy Ltd. (TSXV: TVE) – $3.99 | Market Cap: $310,114,630
Oil & Gas Exploration and Production
Tamarack Valley Energy Ltd. (Tamarack) is a Canada-based oil and natural gas exploration and production company engaged in the identification, evaluation and operation of resource plays in the Western Canadian sedimentary basin. The Company’s diversified suite of oil-focused assets to cardium light oil resource include Lochend, Garrington/Harmattan and the Pembina area, including Buck Lake, Wilson Creek and Alder Flats in Alberta, low cost shallow Viking light oil resource plays in Redwater, Foley Lake and Westlock in Alberta and highly economic heavy oil opportunities southeast of Lloydminster in Saskatchewan.
- Revenues (Last Twelve Months): $109,749,400
- Exploration Expenses (LTM): $107,700,000,000
- Return on Capital: -8.2%
Long Run Exploration Ltd. (TSX: LRE) – $0.73 | Market Cap: $140,881,386
Oil & Gas Exploration and Production
Long Run Exploration Ltd. is a Canada-based oil and gas exploration company. Long Run is engaged in the development, acquisition, exploration and production of oil and natural gas in western Canada. The Company is specifically focused on exploitation and strategic acquisitions within the Peace River and Edmonton regions of the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.
- Revenues (LTM): $540,620,000
- Exploration Expenses (LTM): $76,600,000,000
- Return on Capital: -12.7%
Penn West Petroleum Ltd. (TSX: PWT) – $2.18 | Market Cap: $1,091,828,879
Oil & Gas Exploration and Production
Penn West Petroleum Ltd. (Penn West) is a Canada-based exploration and production company. The Company operates a significant portfolio of opportunities with a dominant position in light oil in Canada. Its portfolio of properties as at December 31, 2013 includes both unitized and non-unitized oil and natural gas production. The majority of its proved plus probable reserves are located in Canada in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the Northwest Territories.
- Revenues (LTM): $2,068,000,000
- Exploration Expenses (LTM): $550,000,000
- Return on Capital: -17.0%
Nuvista Energy Ltd. (TSX: NVA) – $7.53 | Market Cap: $1,041,742,943
Oil & Gas Exploration and Production
NuVista Energy Ltd. (NuVista) is a Canada-based oil and natural gas company. The Company is engaged in the exploration, development and production of oil and natural gas reserves in Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. The Company is focused on the scalable and repeatable condensate-rich Montney formation in the Wapiti area of the Alberta Deep Basin.
- Revenues (LTM): $236,923,000
- Exploration Expenses (LTM): $280,000,000
- Return on Capital: -6.6%
Africa Oil Corp. (TSX: AOI) – $1.99 | Market Cap: $734,268,332
Oil & Gas Exploration and Production
Africa Oil Corp. (AOC) is a Canada-based independent international upstream oil and gas exploration company. The Company has oil and gas interests in Kenya, Ethiopia and Puntland (Somalia). The Company holds interests in over 215,000 square kilometers (gross) of exploration property throughout several African rift basins, focusing primarily on East Africa.
- Revenues (LTM): $0
- Exploration Expenses (LTM): $203,507,500
- Return on Capital: -18.6%
