Most independents reported record revenues and stellar production figures for the first quarter of this year, according to Oil and Gas Investor This Week's scoreboard of 35 producers' results. Companies in the production winners' circle in the first quarter included Noble Energy, Chesapeake Energy and XTO Energy Inc. with gains of 70%, 31% and 21%, respectively, compared with the same period last year. Losers included Forest Oil Corp. and Stone Energy Corp.-which was at the center of a bidding war between Energy Partners Ltd. and Plains Exploration & Production Co. at press time-with losses of 25% each. Morgan Stanley E&P analyst Lloyd Byrne says Noble is on the right track. "We continue to see unrecognized value in the shares today and believe that Noble's current peer group discount is inconsistent with the company's quality of assets, above-average growth potential and premium returns on capital. Should market recognition fail to materialize, we continue to expect strategic initiatives such as divesting noncore assets and would like to see share buybacks initiated." For more on this, see the July issue of Oil and Gas Investor. For a subscription, call 713-260-6441.

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