For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL - April 24, 2012 - Zacks.com announces the list of
stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity
Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting
stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the
blog include
Baker Hughes Inc.
(
BHI
),
Transocean Inc.
(
RIG
),
Diamond Offshore
(
DO
),
Noble Corp.
(
NE
) and
Helmerich & Payne
(
HP
).
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free Profit from the Pros newsletter:
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Here are highlights from Monday's Analyst Blog:
Oil Drilling Rigs Scale New Peak
In its weekly release, Houston-based oilfield services company
Baker Hughes Inc.
(
BHI
) reported a rise in the U.S. rig count (number of rigs searching
for oil and gas in the country). This can be attributed to an
increase in the tally of both oil and natural gas-directed rigs. In
particular, the natural gas rig count climbed for only the third
time in 2012, while the oil rig count scaled another record
high.
The Baker Hughes rig count, issued since 1944, acts as an
important yardstick for drilling contractors such as
Transocean Inc.
(
RIG
),
Diamond Offshore
(
DO
),
Noble Corp.
(
NE
),
Helmerich & Payne
(
HP
), etc. in gauging the overall business environment of the oil and
gas industry.
Analysis of the Data
Weekly Summary:
Rigs engaged in exploration and production in the U.S. totaled
1,972 for the week ended April 20, 2012. This was up by 22 from the
previous week's count and represents the fifth increase in the last
10 weeks.
The current nationwide rig count is more than double that of the
6-year low of 876 (in the week ended June 12, 2009) and
significantly exceeds the prior-year level of 1,800. It rose to a
22-year high in 2008, peaking at 2,031 in the weeks ending August
29 and September 12.
Rigs engaged in land operations climbed by 19 to 1,904, inland
waters activity increased by 1 to 23, while offshore drilling was
up by 2 to 45 rigs.
Natural Gas Rig Count:
The natural gas rig count - which recently slumped to a 10-year low
- increased for just the second time in 15 weeks to 631 (a gain of
7 rigs from the previous week). Despite the weekly improvement, the
number of gas-directed rigs is down approximately 33% from its 2011
peak of 936, reached during mid-October.
In fact, the current natural gas rig count remains 61% below its
all-time high of 1,606 reached in late summer 2008. In the year-ago
period, there were 878 active natural gas rigs.
Oil Rig Count:
The oil rig count was up by 15 to 1,337. The current tally - the
highest since Baker Hughes started breaking up oil and natural gas
rig counts in 1987 - is way above the previous year's rig count of
913. It has recovered strongly from a low of 179 in June 2009,
rising almost 7.5 times.
Miscellaneous Rig Count:
The miscellaneous rig count (primarily drilling for geothermal
energy) at 4 remained unchanged from the previous week.
Rig Count by Type:
The number of vertical drilling rigs rose by 3 to 571, while the
horizontal/directional rig count (encompassing new drilling
technology that has the ability to drill and extract gas from dense
rock formations, also known as shale formations) was up by 19 at
1,401. In particular, horizontal rig units - that reached an
all-time high of 1,185 in January this year - increased by 10 from
last week's level to 1,155.
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BAKER-HUGHES (
BHI
): Free Stock Analysis Report
DIAMOND OFFSHOR (
DO
): Free Stock Analysis Report
HELMERICH&PAYNE (
HP
): Free Stock Analysis Report
NOBLE CORP (
NE
): Free Stock Analysis Report
TRANSOCEAN LTD (
RIG
): Free Stock Analysis Report
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