The ASX small cap oil and gas industry has been a blood bath over the past half year, thanks to lockdowns and travel restrictions intended to halt the spread of COVID-19.

This has hammered oil prices and slashed gas demand.

Oil price futures slumped into negative territory for the first time ever in April due to concerns about crude storage in the US.

It has since bounced back up to around $US40 ($57.75) per barrel but ongoing concerns about supply overtaking demand and a second wave of infections has served to put a hard cap on any increases.

Global resources consultancy Wood Mackenzie has reduced its long-term Brent price assumption from $US60 per barrel to $US50 per barrel, while UK supermajor BP slashed its long-term price expectations by 27 per cent to just $US55 per barrel.

Demand for gas has also dropped, leading to a reduction in Australian liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, which has in turn led to a reduction in domestic spot gas prices on the east coast as more gas becomes available.

This environment has already claimed some victims, with US shale oil and gas pioneer Chesapeake Energy declaring bankruptcy, though the company was already struggling prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Some lights in the dark

Despite the doom and gloom, a small number of companies have managed to exit the first half of 2020 on a positive note.

Here’s how ASX small cap oil and gas stocks have performed from January 1 – July 2 [intraday]:

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Code Name Price at 01/01/2020 Current price YTD % Return Market Cap
BUY BOUNTY OIL & GAS NL 0.004 0.017 325.00 16.21M
KKO KINETIKO ENERGY LTD 0.020 0.051 150.00 27.16M
CRM CARBON MINERALS LTD 0.180 0.300 66.67 5.64M
GRV GREENVALE ENERGY LTD 0.019 0.031 63.16 3.62M
JPR JUPITER ENERGY LTD 0.011 0.014 27.27 2.15M
TMK TAMASKA OIL & GAS LTD 0.005 0.006 20.00 5.34M
EXR ELIXIR ENERGY LTD 0.036 0.037 2.78 25.46M
STX STRIKE ENERGY LTD 0.205 0.210 0.00 349.78M
IVZ INVICTUS ENERGY LTD 0.029 0.029 0.00 13.03M
ADX ADX ENERGY LTD 0.008 0.007 0.00 13.72M
XCD XCD ENERGY LTD 0.012 0.011 -8.33 7.81M
GLV GLOBAL OIL & GAS LTD 0.012 0.012 -8.33 2.87M
PGY PILOT ENERGY LTD 0.022 0.020 -9.09 2.12M
GLL GALILEE ENERGY LTD 0.690 0.610 -10.14 168.30M
BLU BLUE ENERGY LTD 0.046 0.040 -10.87 54.41M
WGO WARREGO ENERGY LTD 0.200 0.175 -15.00 136.68M
KPE KINA PETROLEUM CORP 1.250 1.050 -16.00 13.46M
TDO 3D OIL LTD 0.095 0.078 -17.89 20.68M
RMP RED EMPEROR RESOURCES NL 0.011 0.009 -18.18 4.73M
TAP TAP OIL LTD 0.115 0.089 -22.61 38.09M
CUE CUE ENERGY RESOURCES LTD 0.130 0.098 -24.62 68.42M
PVE PO VALLEY ENERGY LTD 0.052 0.038 -26.92 24.60M
SHE STONEHORSE ENERGY LTD 0.007 0.005 -28.57 2.00M
SGC SACGASCO LTD 0.045 0.030 -28.89 8.65M
MEL METGASCO LTD 0.044 0.031 -29.55 12.11M
FZR FITZROY RIVER CORP LTD 0.200 0.140 -30.00 12.09M
EMP EMPEROR ENERGY LTD 0.038 0.026 -31.58 2.59M
NGE NGE CAPITAL LTD 0.680 0.440 -32.35 17.11M
XST XSTATE RESOURCES LTD 0.003 0.002 -33.33 2.85M
SXY SENEX ENERGY LTD 0.345 0.220 -33.33 335.30M
RLE REAL ENERGY CORP LTD 0.031 0.020 -35.48 7.06M
ICN ICON ENERGY LIMITED 0.011 0.007 -36.36 4.18M
LIO LION ENERGY LTD 0.023 0.014 -39.13 2.90M
CTP CENTRAL PETROLEUM LTD 0.135 0.082 -39.26 59.31M
MAY MELBANA ENERGY LTD 0.010 0.006 -40.00 13.90M
HPR HIGH PEAK ROYALTIES LTD 0.090 0.054 -40.00 10.20M
EEG EMPIRE ENERGY GROUP LTD 0.445 0.265 -40.45 69.77M
KEY KEY PETROLEUM LTD 0.007 0.005 -42.86 7.87M
CE1 CALIMA ENERGY LTD 0.007 0.004 -42.86 8.62M
GGE GRAND GULF ENERGY LTD 0.007 0.004 -42.86 1.53M
FPL FREMONT PETROLEUM CORP LTD 0.007 0.004 -42.86 8.54M
IPB IPB PETROLEUM LTD 0.025 0.014 -44.00 3.23M
BRU BURU ENERGY LTD 0.175 0.095 -45.71 41.05M
TEG TRIANGLE ENERGY GLOBAL LTD 0.062 0.033 -46.77 11.90M
CVN CARNARVON PETROLEUM LTD 0.370 0.195 -47.30 305.05M
GAS STATE GAS LTD 0.710 0.370 -47.89 54.15M
HZN HORIZON OIL LTD 0.120 0.062 -48.33 80.72M
KAR KAROON ENERGY LTD 1.155 0.580 -48.48 329.03M
PRM PROMINENCE ENERGY LTD 0.002 0.001 -50.00 1.32M
SAN SAGALIO ENERGY LTD 0.002 0.001 -50.00 204.66k
ROG RED SKY ENERGY LTD 0.002 0.001 -50.00 1.64M
BAS BASS OIL LTD 0.002 0.001 -50.00 3.34M
GGX GAS2GRID LTD 0.003 0.002 -50.00 2.07M
GBP GLOBAL PETROLEUM LTD 0.020 0.011 -50.00 2.03M
PCL PANCONTINENTAL OIL & GAS NL 0.002 0.001 -50.00 5.41M
OEX OILEX LTD 0.004 0.002 -50.00 7.30M
HE8 HELIOS ENERGY LTD 0.190 0.094 -51.05 143.53M
COI COMET RIDGE LTD 0.190 0.092 -51.58 72.59M
BYE BYRON ENERGY LTD 0.300 0.150 -51.67 148.41M
NGY NUENERGY GAS LTD 0.017 0.008 -52.94 11.85M
GEV GLOBAL ENERGY VENTURES LTD 0.140 0.063 -55.00 24.36M
BRK BROOKSIDE ENERGY LTD 0.009 0.005 -55.56 4.03M
TOU TLOU ENERGY LTD 0.091 0.042 -55.90 18.01M
VEN VINTAGE ENERGY LTD 0.170 0.075 -57.06 24.82M
NWE NORWEST ENERGY NL 0.007 0.003 -57.14 14.20M
TNP TRIPLE ENERGY LTD 0.014 0.006 -57.14 431.98k
WEL WINCHESTER ENERGY LTD 0.054 0.023 -57.41 15.83M
PKO PEAKO LTD 0.024 0.010 -58.33 1.29M
TPD TALON PETROLEUM LTD 0.002 0.002 -60.00 1.78M
HCD HYDROCARBON DYNAMICS LTD 0.085 0.033 -61.18 11.39M
WBE WHITEBARK ENERGY LTD 0.011 0.004 -63.64 12.16M
AJQ ARMOUR ENERGY LTD 0.053 0.019 -64.49 14.81M
ATS AUSTRALIS OIL & GAS LTD 0.081 0.028 -65.43 27.61M
ANA ANSILA ENERGY NL 0.049 0.015 -69.39 7.63M
FAR FAR LTD 0.044 0.012 -75.00 109.77M
88E 88 ENERGY LTD 0.022 0.005 -77.27 42.58M
OEL OTTO ENERGY LTD 0.032 0.007 -78.38 33.57M
E2E EON NRG LTD 0.005 0.001 -80.00 769.89k
LNG LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS LTD 0.190 24.80M
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Shares in oil producer Bounty Oil & Gas (ASX:BUY) have been rising fairly steadily through this half-year, with some small blips along the way, and is now up 325 per cent to 1.7c.

The company has a 2 per cent stake in the Naccowlah Block in Queensland, where operator Santos (ASX:STO) has drilled eight wells in 2020, six of which have been cased for oil production and are awaiting tie-in to the production system.

While Bounty only has a small stake in Naccowlah, it still generated $594,000 in revenue in the March 2020 quarter.

It also has a 15 per cent interest in PEP 11 in the offshore Sydney Basin that is believed to host an active petroleum system.

Kinetiko Energy (ASX:KKO) merrily skipped through the worst of the oil price rout, with the company emerging from a suspension that has been in place since October 2017 in mid-May this year.

Shares in the company have risen 150 per cent to the current 5c price since then.

Kinetiko is starting a high-resolution aeromagnetic survey on its flagship Amersfoort gas project in South Africa, its first exploration there in about six years.

This is intended to provide other areas for well tests and further pilot production fields.

Kinetiko has also appointed independent oil and gas experts and appraisers Gustavson Associates to carry out an updated resource report on its existing and newly granted exploration rights.

Coal seam gas player Carbon Minerals (ASX:CRM) is up 66.67 per cent to 30c on little or no news, while Greenvale Energy (ASX:GRV) rose 63.16 per cent to 3.1c.

Greenvale has developed an initial 2020 exploration work plan for its Alpha oil shale project, which it expects can produce refined liquid petroleum products, high-quality bitumen products and active carbon projects.

This will focus on the extraction and analysis of torbanite and cannel coal bulk samples.

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