Oil price surge big for Oklahoma oil stocks

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ The surge in oil prices has meant a rally in stock prices for many Oklahoma oil companies. <br><br>The three top performers on Wall Street so far this year among Oklahoma's publicly

Thursday, April 1st 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ The surge in oil prices has meant a rally in stock prices for many Oklahoma oil companies.

The three top performers on Wall Street so far this year among Oklahoma's publicly traded companies are in the energy industry. Their shares are soaring as crude oil prices rose to almost $40 per barrel.

Leading the way is Tulsa-based Syntroleum Corp., whose Nasdaq-traded shares rose 65.5 percent in the first quarter. It's a significant turnaround for the company that turns natural gas into diesel and other fuels.

Syntroleum shares were up another 3 cents Thursday morning to $7.18 after opening the year at $4.32. The company has yet to turn a profit in its short history.

``They've had a very bad run for quite a few years now,'' said Jake Dollarhide, chief executive of Tulsa's Longbow Asset Management Co. ``Syntroleum is profiting from a rebirth in the energy sector. It's incredible to see the price of oil near $40 a barrel.''

Another Tulsa company, Beta Oil & Gas Inc., had a 47.2 percent rise in their share price in the first quarter as the company reported a small profit in 2003 after a big loss a year earlier.

The company traded on the Nasdaq has agreed to sell to a 55 percent stake in the Beta to Houston-based Petrohawk Energy for $60 million. The deal, which must yet be approved by shareholders, gave Beta financing to begin producing oil while prices are high.

``All they had was a bunch of proven reserves in the ground so they had to go out and get a partner,'' said Bob Rader, vice president of Capital West Securities in Oklahoma City. ``They were right on the properties.''

Shares of Beta soared 25 cents, or 8.6 percent, to $3.15 Thursday morning.

Financing gained in December and January to develop two oil prospects in east Texas have been a boon to shares at GMX Resources Inc. of Oklahoma City. Like Beta, GMX had lacked cash to drill its fields.

GMX stock has risen 43.9 percent before dropping 2 cents to $5.75 Thursday morning on the Nasdaq stock market.

The larger publicly traded oil companies in Oklahoma have also benefited on Wall Street, but some have slipped.

Shares of Oklahoma City-based Kerr-McGee Corp. rose 10.8 percent in the quarter. Devon Energy Corp.'s shares rose 1.6 percent.

But the stock price of Chesapeake Energy Corp., the largest producer of Oklahoma oil and gas, fell 1.3 percent in the first three months of 2004.