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Gold/Mining/Energy : Strictly: Drilling and oil-field services -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: BigBull who wrote (53621)	10/27/1999 9:24:00 AM
From: Tomas	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 95453

Canada: Oilpatch expects busy drilling year - Financial Post, October 27 Labour shortage Ian McKinnon CALGARY - After spending six quarters managing declining activity, Hugh Strain and other executives at Tetonka Drilling Inc. are on the hunt for skilled workers. They expect a very busy year in 2000. The Petroleum Services Association Canada yesterday estimated 13,550 wells will be drilled in Western Canada next year, up from 10,200 in 1999. Some 70% of the wells will be chasing gas targets, with the bulk of the wells to be drilled in Alberta. PSAC's numbers forecast gains in activity of at least 30% across the four Western provinces. However, Mr. Strain, chairman and chief executive of Calgary-based Tetonka, said PSAC chose a conservative target as he expects about 14,500 oil and gas wells will be punched down in 2000. The company is currently building its 11th rig that will be ready for work later this year, and Mr. Strain said finding experienced hands will be a problem. "We would anticipate that we will see some challenges in crewing up our rig," he said. "It certainly looks like [2000] will be a very positive year and for us what we see as the challenge in 2000 is managing the growth." A scarcity of trained staff was a major reason PSAC took a cautious approach in estimating next year's figures, said Bill Lynch, past chairman of the 220-member group, which provides services needed to find and develop petroleum reserves. PSAC officials said the 18-month swoon in oil prices, which started in late 1997, caused more than 3,000 workers to lose their job as employment in the sector slid from a peak of 25,000 two years ago, when 16,500 wells were drilled. Mr. Lynch used his company, Halliburton Energy Services, as an example of a firm whipsawed by the abrupt rebound in oil prices since March. Halliburton laid off more than 20% of its staff early in the second quarter only to have to go on a hiring spree as crude prices climbed to nearly $25 (US) per barrel in the summer before sliding back to the current level of $23 (US). "Part of the problem is that the industry did not recognize the upturn as quickly as it came," he said. nationalpost.com

To: BigBull who wrote (53621)	10/28/1999 2:05:00 AM
From: Douglas V. Fant	Respond to of 95453

BigBull, I'd rate the NW Continental Shelf-Australia as one of the major prospect areas for big deepwater fields right there with GOM and Offshore Angola. In fact at least a couple of major finds offshore NW Australia have yet to be announced by various companies....Add in deepwater Indonesia and you havea formula for rig demand in SE Asia..... And I believe that a recently announced GOM discovery is actually much bigger than the parties let on- probably "lying low" in order to pick up any adjacent open acreage... Future looks bright for deepwater drillers IMO....