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

To: Teddy who wrote (12579)	2/23/1998 1:04:00 PM
From: pz	Respond to of 95453

Monday February 23, 1:46 am Eastern Time Oman says would cut oil output if OPEC did -paper DUBAI, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Oman, a non-OPEC member, was ready to cut its oil output to boost low crude prices if OPEC members did the same, its oil minister said in remarks published on Monday. ''We are ready to reduce our oil production to stop the decline in prices if the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries takes a similar decision to cut production,'' Oil Minister Mohammad bin Hamad bin Seif al-Ramhi told the Saudi-owned Asharq al-Awsat newspaper. Asked about Oman's January call for an unscheduled meeting of fellow Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) oil ministers over low oil prices, the minister said: ''The call is still in place and we are waiting for the results of current contacts between OPEC members.'' The international benchmark North Sea Brent crude fell to $14.22 last week, the lowest level since April 1994, but has since recovered to around $14.75. But traders said news that United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan had reached a deal with Iraq eased tensions of a possible U.S.-led military strike and added bearishness to the market. Oman has in the past offered to coordinate its output policies with OPEC, GCC and even non-OPEC states such as Norway when prices fell sharply. The medium-sized Gulf producer of around 900,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude briefly cut its output by five percent in 1994 to support a move by the 11-member OPEC to perk up prices. The newspaper quoted Ramhi as saying OPEC members Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were capable of restoring the balance to oil prices and urged these countries to coordinate production to help achieve this.

To: Teddy who wrote (12579)	2/23/1998 1:08:00 PM
From: Czechsinthemail	Respond to of 95453

Drilling stocks seem to be holding up reasonably well considering the widespread opinion that they will be going to the floor. While most of the spotlight is on the Iraq deal and its impact on crude prices, it is worth remembering that the bullish case on drilling stocks is based on the need for drilling to replace reserves. Unless drilling demand slows, the profit growth of drilling stocks will continue. With the rest of the market near all-time highs, these stocks remain standout bargains unless the demand for drilling slows significantly. The psychological negatives of falling oil prices have definitely had a negative impact on the stock prices but so far not much visible impact on the earnings of drilling companies. Given the likelihood that oil prices will recover at some time, the long-term appeal of the drillers remains strong, and the short-term price weaknesses provide opportunities to buy them cheap. There may be opportunities to buy them cheaper, but they become increasingly tempting on a value basis particularly when compared with the risk/reward present in other stocks. It is hard to know if crude prices will go much lower, particularly since there has been so much expectation priced into crude. For example, Venezuela announced they had already sold their production through March, suggesting they have already done their damage in the futures market. Any strengthening of demand in Asia, which I think is likely by later this year, or hints of revised OPEC quotas, not to mention unraveling of the deal with Iraq could lift oil prices very quickly. Baird