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

To: BigBull who wrote (65586)	5/2/2000 10:35:00 AM
From: Think4Yourself	Respond to of 95453

PKD: This came out this morning. Parker Drilling Down But Not Out GULF OF MEXICO, May 01 (Street Advisor) - Parker Drilling [PKD] met 1Q00 expectations recently with a loss per share of $0.19, compared with a loss per share of $0.17 in the year ago. Results were negatively affected by the four offshore barge rigs in Nigeria operating at daily rental rates less than contract rates because of civil unrest. Less-than-expected utilization of both international land rigs and jackup rigs in the Gulf of Mexico also made an impact on the numbers. However, each of these rig fleets is projected to operate at higher dayrates over the next six months. We continue to recommend that risk-oriented investors purchase this beaten-down stock with a price objective of $20, compared with a current market price of approximately $5. Management expects the rigs operating offshore Nigeria to return to full contract dayrates of $65,000 this month, up from 50-60 percent of that now. Dayrates of rigs in the Gulf of Mexico are projected to increase 16 percent to a fleet average of $ 21,000 within the next 30 days. Improved utilization and rental rates of international land are also expected in the second half of this year. Utilization of the fleet of seven jackup rigs has improved from one rig working last summer at a dayrate of $13,500 to six working at an average $21,000 per day. New contracts on these rigs are in the $22,0000-$25,000 per day range. With natural gas prices over $3.00 per million cubic feet, we believe the current 61 percent utilization of the domestic offshore fleet of barge and platform rigs is likely to approach 100 percent over the next six to 12 months. As the operator of a barge rig drilling in the North Caspian Sea, Parker Drilling has a key position for additional drilling contracts when the results of current exploration activity is disclosed. Estimates of crude oil reserves in the Caspian Sea range up to 30bn barrels of oil, or three times the estimated reserves of the North Slope of Alaska.