Shares of Petrohawk Energy (NYSE: HK, Stock Forum) are down over 17% to $36.98 in afternoon trading today. This is after a protracted run-up that has continued more-or-less in step with the rise in the spot price of a barrel of crude. Shares were trading at $10.00 at the beginning of 2007 and at $15.00 by early 2008. They have been powering higher in the last few months to highs over $50.00, but in recent days have slipped – possibly on the drop in crude and increasing anxiety about the potential top in that commodity.
There is one post on the Petrohawk Bullboard by ghostzapper, who re-published an article from Dow Jones newswires about Haynesville shale opportunities.
On July 15, a Louisiana-based gas explorer called Mainland Resources (OTC:BB: MNLU, Stock Forum) announced that it had partnered up with Petrohawk to develop approximately 2,695 net acres which form part of the East Holly Field in De Soto Parish, northwest Louisiana. This is what’s known as part of an “emerging northeastern gas region” in Louisiana, part of the Haynesville shale area, and Mainland owns a chunk of land there.
A look at the chart for Mainland tells me that this is one opportunity more Stockhouse members wish they had been a part of. In February of this year the company was trading at $0.0078. It is now trading at $7.06. That percentage gain is absolutely mind-boggling: 100,757%. In other words, if you’d tossed a hundred bucks into the pot after Christmas, you’d be a millionaire.
Perhaps there are a couple of Stockhouse members who are millionaires now; on December 13, when it was trading at a fraction of a fraction of a cent, jjohn832 asked simply, “What’s the story with this company?”
In response, on May 5, dontshort said, “looking at the company's profile, properties and the stock. One of the most attractive features is that Mainland's Haynesville Shale properties are closely situated to Chesapeake energy's property, Chesapeake has 300m acres in the Haynesville Shale Region. Below was taken from Chesapeak's IR package. I am expecting really big things from MNLU. [sic]”
Really big things indeed – if these investors were a part of the stratsospheric price rise, well – it doesn’t get any bigger than that.
