It seems that investors are hyperskittish about BNK Petroleum Inc.’s stock because of the company’s highly speculative venture in European shale gas fields.

The stock of the Camarillo-based oil and gas exploration company had been sliding since oil prices peaked this spring. Then it climbed to become one of last week’s biggest gainers on the LABJ stock index, up 9.2 percent to close at $2.74 on Aug. 24. (See page 44.) The week before, it was one of the biggest losers on the index.

The company’s recent earnings showed a return to profitability during the second quarter after several quarters of losses. But that caused barely a ripple in the stock price Aug. 10 and there has been no news from the company since. So what’s happening?

“There’s been a general aversion to risk on the markets during recent weeks and a company like BNK is more susceptible to risk aversion,” said Jamie Somerville, an analyst with T.D. Newcrest in Toronto.

Somerville said the risk stems from BNK’s primary focus on using unconventional drilling methods in search of oil and gas deposits in shale formations in Poland, Germany and Spain. BNK makes extensive use of the controversial technique known as “fracking,” or fracturing rock formations by injecting bursts of liquid and chemicals, thereby releasing trapped natural gas and petroleum substances.

BNK Chief Executive Wolf Regener was traveling last week and could not be reached for comment.

The company faces a key test in the next several months as it will find out whether two major exploratory wells in a Polish shale formation will strike gas deposits.

“If the wells are successful, BNK would add reserves to its portfolio that are multiples of what it has now,” Somerville said.

Yet even if BNK finds gas in these wells, it faces substantial challenges in getting that gas to market. Several major oil companies are drilling in the region, including Irving, Texas’ Exxon Mobil Corp. And several European nations are poised to pass tough regulations on fracking and other techniques used to extract oil and gas from shale deposits.

BNK Petroleum formed three years ago when Calgary, Alberta-based Bankers Petroleum Ltd. decided to spin off its U.S. holdings in Oklahoma, Mississippi and Alabama. While those oil and gas producing assets generate most of BNK’s revenue, the company early on decided to focus its exploration efforts on new shale gas markets in Europe.