In a stunning announcement November 1st, Pengrowth Energy Corp. announced its sale to Cona Resources Ltd. for five cents a share and assumption of company debt. Once a $7.2 billion oil and gas exploration company, Pengrowth Energy has lost almost 99.6% of their equity value in the past six years. Over the past twelve months (to October 31st), the S&P/TSX Composite oil & gas exploration and production sub-sector has fallen over 29% (including dividends) with many of the constituents falling much, much more. In the past three years to the same end date, the returns of the group have fallen a cumulative 47% – again, with many constituents falling much more. It’s the perfect trifecta – increasing environmental awareness, lack of access to global markets, on top of an industry which has – in the past at least – borrowed from capital markets to increase production and cash flow.
