CALGARY, Bankers Petroleum Ltd. said Wednesday it is spinning its Albanian heavy oil and North American shale gas businesses off into two different companies, mere days after one of Canada's biggest energy players announced a similar restructuring.

``We felt that this was in the best interest of our shareholders, where we can provide continuous upside from both properties, but will also give us focus and clarity for each independent team to carry on with its own operations and its own business plan,' chief executive Abby Badwi told an analyst conference call.

Riding on recent successes in Oklahoma, the company decided the timing was right for its U.S. natural gas assets to be restructured into a new public entity called BNK Petroleum Inc.

In trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange Wednesday, shares in Bankers rose more than five per cent to $2 on the news.

``We really think this is the best way to go. We have two distinct assets here, we have two management teams in place already,' said Wolf Regener, who will head the U.S. company.

``I think we have a lot of value to unlock and we can use this change to move forward in a number of other projects in the U.S. and really re-focus on shale and tight gas ... I think it's a win-win for shareholders and I'm very happy with the outcome.'

On Sunday, EnCana Corp. (TSX:ECA), Canada's largest natural gas producer and a significant oilsands producer, said that it planned to split into two distinct businesses.

One company will centre around EnCana's Alberta oilsands production and U.S. refineries and the other will focus on developing its vast unconventional gas holdings.

That deal was greeted with accolades Monday, with EnCana shares rising nearly seven per cent and garnering jacked-up price targets from analysts.

Observers have said more companies could follow suit.

Calgary oil and gas producer Nexen Inc. (TSX:NXY) has reportedly been under pressure from investors to break itself up as a means to boost its lagging share price.

Talisman Energy Inc. (TSX:TLM), which has diverse oil and gas holdings around the world, is undergoing a strategic revamp that it says will result in a tighter focus around fewer assets.

The Bankers's deal will see shareholders receive one share in BNK-US for every 10 common shares held in Bankers, at a record date to be set for early July.

The new company's main asset will be an interest in the Tishomingo gas field in the Ardmore Basin in Oklahoma.

Bankers will ``focus its efforts and financial resources on developing the 2.5 billion barrels of original-oil-in-place in the Patos Marinza and Kucova oilfields, as well as exploring additional oil and gas investment opportunities in Albania.'