This Oil Stock Has Been Blistering Hot, and Oil Prices Have Nothing to Do With It

Oil prices have quietly risen more than 20% off their bottom earlier this year, setting off a new bull market. However, while the rebound in oil has fueled rallies in many oil stocks, it wasn't the catalyst behind Pengrowth Energy's (NYSE: PGH) blistering run over the past month, where shares surged more than 90% at one point. Instead, what has fueled the Canadian oil stock's huge move was one investor, billionaire Seymour Schulich, who bought millions of shares in recent weeks in a bullish bet on its future.

While Seymour Schulich might not be that well known in investing circles, the Canadian has made quite the name for himself in the natural resources industry, especially mining. His claim to fame, and how he made his fortune, was pioneering the concept of royalty payments in the mining sector. He and a partner formed Franco-Nevada (NYSE: FNV) and used it to take the oil and gas royalty model to the gold mining industry. In their first deal, they paid $2 million for a 4% royalty on the output of a mine in Nevada. By 2002, that agreement was generating $23 million in annual revenue for Franco-Nevada. It's just one of a string of successful deals by the company, which Schulich eventually sold to Newmont Mining (NYSE: NEM). He made a mint for himself and his investors along the way, turning a $1,000 initial investment in 1983 into $1.2 million by 2002, which is good for a 40% average annual rate of return.

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Source: Fool.com