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

To: Broken_Clock who wrote (15039)	3/17/1998 11:59:00 AM
From: Czechsinthemail	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 95453

Extracted from the Global Marine 10-K: Demand for contract drilling services in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, which rose steadily between the second quarter of 1995 and the third quarter 1997, remains strong, despite industry concern about downward trends in oil and natural gas prices in late 1997 and early 1998. The Company believes that few drilling programs have been cut back, active utilization essentially at 100 percent, and dayrates are holding at record levels set in the fourth quarter of 1997. If the downward trends in oil and gas pricing continue, however, the Company's clients are likely to trim their drilling budgets. Based on past experience, if operators jointly release enough rigs to lower active utilization below approximately 95%, market dayrates would likely decline. They note 100% utilization in the Gulf of Mexico, West Africa and the North Sea: The North Sea market continue to strengthen with new contracts being awarded at record high rates for jackups and holding the record high rates for semisubmersibles in the last half of 1997. Rig availability is extremely tight for both jackups and semisubmersibles for the balance of 1998, and operators are contracting now for programs that cannot start until 1999 because rigs are not available. They also mention that the company had been keeping a number of shallower drilling rigs under short term contracts to take advantage of rising dayrates. Baird sec.yahoo.com