Feeling rooked by Canadian Superior’s announcement last week of a halt operations at the El Paso Mariner I-85 well in the Atlantic Ocean off Nova Scotia, following 3-1/2 months of drilling, a number of class action lawsuits have been filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of purchasers of the securities of Canadian Superior Energy Inc.

In the suits, the complaint alleges that Canadian Superior, Greg Noval, president, and Michael Coolen, director of East Coast Operations, issued a number of “materially false and misleading statements” about its El Paso Mariner I-85 well from Nov. 17, 2003 to March 11, 2004. The suit charges the defendants with violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

The suits allege that these positive statements failed to disclose and indicate:

On Thursday of last week (see Daily GPI, March 12), Canadian Superior said that despite encountering gas pay in multiple zones on its Mariner I-85 well, it has temporarily halted drilling on the deepwater prospect because of pack ice and potential cost overruns. On this news, shares of Canadian Superior skidded 44.44%, or $1.44 per share, to close at $1.80 per share on March 11, 2004 on unusual high volume.

Last Thursday, Noval said, “We are pleased with the results obtained in the drilling of the Canadian Superior El Paso ‘Mariner’ I-85 well, the first well on the ‘Mariner’ Block. However, given the recent operational pack ice delays and associated cost and the current overall cost of the well, we have reluctantly agreed with El Paso, the operator of the test well, not to proceed with any further testing or completion operations on the test well at this time, to maintain the well within the original budget.”

The Plaintiffs seeks to recover damages on behalf of class members.

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