Meanwhile, a shortage of North American pipeline capacity has hit producer earnings by trapping large quantities of oil north of the border and pushing down selling prices. And, in the past week or so, concerns about China’s economic growth have hurt commodity prices in general.

Worst hit of all have been smaller producers, who lack the scale to ride out the turmoil profitably. The quest for size quickly induced the former AvenEx Energy Corp, Pace Oil & Gas Ltd and Charger Energy Corp to join forces to form a new entity, Spyglass Resources Corp (TSX: SGL, OTC: PACED).

Initial investor reaction was skepticism, and even opposition from some shareholders who preferred the trio simply sell assets to bigger players.

As a result, Spyglass shares have generally performed poorly since the deal was consummated on Apr. 4, 2013, and are now sitting 75 percent off the 2011 highs of predecessor companies. Buy Spyglass Resources under USD2.25.