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

To: Big Dog who wrote (21601)	5/6/1998 8:52:00 PM
From: Broken_Clock	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 95453

UFAB had about 500k shares dumped yesterday then management came out with a news flash today(rather short, actually) that some of the top management left to form a new company. Cosy investors about 20% equity temorarily. I figure that they musy have been pretty key VPs to cause an effect like that. Might be a good time to sell some May calls if you're so inclined.

To: Big Dog who wrote (21601)	5/6/1998 9:09:00 PM
From: SJS	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 95453

Hey dog, Briefing.com view (updated 5/5/98): Oil Services returns to 1/1 rating: ______________________ Comment: In our last report on 3/9/98, we noted that the bad news appeared to be priced in and that the risk/reward ratio had turned positive once again. Still high day rates, near 100% utilization and improved operating efficiencies were cited as reasons to remain optimistic on the earnings front, despite the drop in crude and natural gas prices. In addition, we expected the merger activity to underpin the group. As such we upped our short-term rating from 3 to 2, while maintaining our long-term rating of 1. Today, we up the short-term rating once again providing a uniform rating of 1. The basic reasoning for the upgrade is simple. The sector delivered outstanding revenue and earnings growth due to the factors we noted above. Despite an average earnings gain of better than 56%, the group continues to trade at a sizable discount to the general market. As fears over the Asian contagion subside and investors focus back on the core fundamentals, we expect the sector to benefit from an asset rotation. Other reasons to be bullish on the group's prospects include: 1) Stabilization of crude prices in the $15-$16 range. 2) Surprising strength in US and European economies. 3) OPEC's decision to cut back quotas by 10%, and speculation that further reductions could be forthcoming. 4) Muted impact on supply from Iraqi production. 5) Firm pricing conditions within industry despite weak crude prices. On balance, major oil companies have not reduced exploration budgets, confirming Briefing position that as long as crude didn't stay below the $15 bbl area for a sustained period, exploration budgets would remain intact. Stocks: Baker Hughes (BHI), Camco (CAM), Cliffs Drilling (CDG), R&B Falcon (FLC), Global Marine (GLM), Halliburton (HAL), McDermott International (MDR), Schlumberger (SLB), Smith International (SII), Tidewater (TDW), Transocean Offshore (RIG) and Unifab (UFAB).

To: Big Dog who wrote (21601)	5/6/1998 9:52:00 PM
From: 007	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 95453

Canis Maximus, the work TCMS is doing for RIG is not insignificant for a company of its size. In fact, I'm looking at a picture of it now and it's quite a big piece of metal to my inexperienced eyes. <ggg> Precisely, it's a 3,500 ton Mud Pump Module (please explain that one) for the new drillship Discoverer Enterprise. (RIG will soon be commissioning two more of those drillships.) As for their Red Fox shipyards, the New Iberia facility is the original one. In January, they added a 29 acre yard in New Orleans. In February, they added an 18 acre yard also in New Orleans. ''Together, these facilities enable Red Fox to take on virtually any type of fabrication project for any water depth,'' said Beldon Fox, president of the Red Fox Companies of New Iberia. biz.yahoo.com However, the plan is to use these two new yards to focus on semi and jackup refurbs. Workforce and other preparations are being ramped up and these yards should be fully operational in June. Overall, TCMS increased their workforce by approximately 50% over the last four months (presently at 1,000). 007