Looks like it was the catalyst... very interesting times.All the...

Looks like it was the catalyst... very interesting times.

All the big oil players are keen to get on board into unconvential gas now. Wonder how long before we see Shell or someone of the like taking a stake in a Canadian Shale project.

Here is a good article regarding todays moves. The last paragraph is the kicker:

http://www.thestreet.com/story/10655305/1/energy-winners-american-exploration.html

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Last month, when Exxon(XOM Quote) acquired XTO Energy(XTO Quote), the market went into immediate prediction-mode about the next major chess move among big energy producers.

That move was made on the first day of the new year, with Total S.A.(TOT Quote) spending $800 million in cash and $1.45 billion in financing for a 25% stake in Chesapeake Energy's(CHK Quote) U.S. shale gas assets.

The Total S.A.-Chesapeake Energy deal was not an outright acquisition on the scale of the Exxon-XTO deal, but it did make good on a recent TheStreet poll that indicated Chesapeake Energy would be the next oil and gas independent targeted by the global energy giants.

The Exxon-XTO deal led to a general run-up in energy stocks on the M&A fever theory. If the Exxon-XTO deal triggered the Total S.A.-Chesapeake joint venture, which energy targets are likely to attract the eye of the global energy giants next?

On the first trading day of the year, shares of two small oil and gas producers were being heavily traded. While American Exploration(AEXP Quote) and Petrolympic(PCQ Quote) might be too small to attract the attention of a Chevron(CVX Quote), investors had taken note of these North American oil and gas producers on Monday.

American Exploration was up more than 30% at the close on Monday, with more than 618,000 shares traded -- versus an average daily trading volume of 7,000 shares. American Exploration shares were up 20 cents to 85 cents on Monday. Petrolympic was up just under 29% to 31 cents, a gain of 7 cents on Monday afternoon.

Petrolympic's trading volume was ten times its normal level -- with 503,000 shares traded on Monday, versus an average of 56,000.

Petrolympic was not the only Canadian oil and gas producer seeing heavy action on the heels of the latest big energy deal. Questerre Energy(QEC Quote) was up close to 18% on Monday, or 52 cents to $3.40. Questerre Energy hit its 52-week high of $3.45 during Monday's trading session.

Questerre's trading volume was also elevated on Monday, with 1.3 million shares traded, versus an average of 253,000.

It's too soon to say whether these North American energy independents are next to be tapped by energy giants in the M&A maneuvers. At least for one day, however, investors were drilling down to the level of some of the smallest names in the energy sector.