Deepwater
Why We’re Still Bearish on Offshore Contract Drillers
We’ve been bearish on offshore contract drillers since fall 2013 and see no reason to change our tune. We dropped SeaDrill (NYSE: SDRL) from our Focus List in September 2013 because the stock had hit...
Oil-Field Services and Equipment: Exercise Caution
Despite the Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index’s roughly 20 percent rally from its Jan. 20 low, we continue to regard this link in the energy value chain as one of the most challenged in the...
High-Yield MLPs: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly — Part 1
With more than two dozen non-upstream MLPs yielding more than 8 percent, many investors who followed our leading during the bloodbath of 2008-09 wonder whether they should buy the dip. We kick the tires on...
Key Takeaways from Schlumberger’s Fourth-Quarter Earnings Call
Schlumberger’s wide-ranging earnings calls have long provided investors with useful insights into trends and developments affecting links throughout the energy value chain, thanks to the firm’s forthright management team and the breadth of its oil-field...
IPO Analysis: Ocean Rig Partners LP (NSDQ: ORLP)
Offshore contract driller Ocean Rig UDW (NSDQ: ORIG) has followed SeaDrill (NYSE: SDRL) and Transocean’s (NYSE: RIG) lead and filed an initial registration statement for an MLP that will own rigs that operate under longer-term...
New MLPs on the Seas
Transocean Partners LLC (NYSE: RIGP) Like Aggressive Model Portfolio holding SeaDrill Partners LLC (NYSE: SDLP), Transocean Partners LLC owns ultra-deepwater drilling rigs that earn fixed day-rates from multiyear contracts. A spin-off of contract drilling giant...
Five Myths about SeaDrill That Could Cost You Real Money
We first recommended SeaDrill (NYSE: SDRL) in 2007 and pounded the table for the contract driller’s stock after the Macondo oil spill in 2010. But we dropped SeaDrill from our Focus List in September 2013...
Big Oil: Picks and Pans
BP (LSE: BP, NYSE: BP) Regulatory and legal risks are part of doing business for oil and gas companies. And as the largest enterprises not owned by national governments, the major integrated oil companies often...
Offshore Contract Drillers: Lessons from the Tanker Industry
Between 1998 and 2008, global demand for crude oil expanded rapidly, driven by surging consumption in China, India and other emerging markets. Over this 10-year period, global imports from emerging markets soared by 8.7 million...
Schlumberger Still at the Head of the Class
With a market capitalization of more than $130 billion and operations in over 100 countries, Model Portfolio holding Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB) is the world’s largest, best-diversified oil services firm. Schlumberger is also best of breed...
Why SeaDrill Still Rates a Sell
We dropped SeaDrill (NYSE: SDRL) from our Focus List in September 2013, when the stock had surged to $45.00 per share--more than $12.00 above the current quote. As far back as 2007, SeaDrill had been...
04/19/14: SeaDrill’s Pain is This New Portfolio Holding’s Gain
A loosening supply-demand balance and the prospect of weaker day-rates are bad news for SeaDrill (NYSE: SDRL) and other contract drillers. (See Why SeaDrill Still Rates a Sell.) But SeaDrill Partners LLC (NYSE: SDLP), a...
Real Talk about Energy Investing
Every month, Roger Conrad and I host an exclusive Live Chat with Energy & Income Advisor subscribers. Given the breadth of the publication’s coverage universe, these informal conversations are wide-ranging, tackling whatever issues and questions...
Drill Tips
In the Sept. 29, 2013, issue of Energy & Income Advisor, we dropped offshore driller SeaDrill (NYSE: SDRL) from our Focus List, encouraging readers to take profits on the stock. (See Narrowing Our Focus.) This...
Transocean Proposes Huge Dividend Increase, But There are Other Drillers in the Sea
On Nov. 11, 2013, shares of offshore drilling giant Transocean (NYSE: RIG) rallied by almost 4 percent after the company announced plans to pursue a more shareholder-friendly strategy that involves: Boosting the dividend to $3.00...
Into the Deep
Focus List holding SeaDrill (NYSE: SDRL) in late October sponsored the initial public offering (IPO) of a new partnership, Seadrill Partners LLC (NYSE: SDLP). The IPO was popular with investors, with the units pricing at...
12/18/12: Petroleum Geo-Services’ 2012 Capital Markets Day
Focus List holding Petroleum Geo-Services (Oslo: PGS, OTC: PGSVY) hosted its annual Capital Markets Day today. Although management reaffirmed that the market for marine seismic services remains robust, the company did indicate that 2012 earnings...
The Picks: Offshore Boom
Contract drillers aren't in the business of exploring for or producing oil and natural gas, nor are their earnings and revenues directly dependent on the vagaries of global commodity markets. But since the contract drilling...
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