In its weekly release, Houston-based oilfield services company
Baker Hughes Inc.
(
BHI
) reported a dip in the U.S. rig count (number of rigs searching
for oil and gas in the country). This fall can be attributed to a
decrease in the tally of oil-directed rigs, partially offset by
an increase in natural gas rig count.
The Baker Hughes rig count, issued since 1944, acts as an
important yardstick for drilling contractors like
Transocean Inc.
(
RIG
),
Diamond Offshore
(
DO
),
Noble Corp.
(
NE
),
Nabors Industries
(
NBR
),
Patterson-UTI Energy
(
PTEN
),
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
1,763 for the week ended December 28, 2012. This was down by 11
from the previous week's rig count and indicates the fifth
decrease in as many weeks.
Despite this, the current nationwide rig count is more than
double than that of the 6-year low of 876 (in the week ended June
12, 2009), though it is way below the prior-year level of 2,007.
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 descended by 11 to 1,692, while
inland waters activity offshore drilling remained steady at 20 to
51 rigs, respectively.
Natural Gas Rig Count:
The natural gas rig count - which slumped to a 13-year low in
early November - increased for the second successive week to 431
(a gain of 2 rigs from the previous week). Despite the weekly
improvement, the number of gas-directed rigs is down 54% from its
2011 peak of 936.
In fact, the current natural gas rig count remains 73% below its
all-time high of 1,606 reached in late summer 2008. In the
year-ago period, there were 809 active natural gas rigs.
Oil Rig Count:
The oil rig count - which was at a 25-year high of 1,432 in
August - fell by 13 to 1,327. Nevertheless, the current tally is
way above the previous year's rig count of 1,193. It has
recovered strongly from a low of 179 in June 2009, rising 7.4
times.
Miscellaneous Rig Count:
The miscellaneous rig count (primarily drilling for geothermal
energy) at 5 remained unchanged from the previous week.
Rig Count by Type:
The number of vertical drilling rigs fell by 10 to 477 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 down
by 1 to 1,286. However, horizontal rig units - that reached an
all-time high of 1,193 in May 2012 - increased by 6 from the last
week's level to 1,111.
Zacks Rank:
Among the companies mentioned above, Diamond Offshore, Noble and
Patterson-UTI Energy are all Zacks #3 Rank (Hold) stocks,
implying that these are expected to perform in line with the
broader U.S. equity market over the next one to three months.
However, Baker Hughes and Nabors both retain a Zacks #5 Rank,
which translates into a short-term Strong Sell rating, while
Helmerich & Payne and Transocean's Zacks #2 Rank implies that
the companies are likely to outperform the broader U.S. equity
market over the next one to three months.
BAKER-HUGHES (BHI): Free Stock Analysis
Report
DIAMOND OFFSHOR (DO): Free Stock Analysis
Report
HELMERICH&PAYNE (HP): Free Stock Analysis
Report
NABORS IND (NBR): Free Stock Analysis Report
NOBLE CORP (NE): Free Stock Analysis Report
PATTERSON-UTI (PTEN): Free Stock Analysis
Report
TRANSOCEAN LTD (RIG): Free Stock Analysis
Report
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