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The Vacuum at National Oilwell Varco

Sat, 25/04/2009 - 06:46 by Toby Shute

Last quarter, I wrote the following with regards to the fate of uber-oilfield supplier National Oilwell Varco 's (NYSE: NOV) backlog:

Energy Department has Earth Day Web page

Wed, 22/04/2009 - 21:50 by Inderjit Singh

Washington -- The U.S. Department of Energy is observing Earth Day with a Web feature that provides energy-saving information to help people enjoy a more green lifestyle.

The Web page details steps consumers can take to make informed energy decisions, save money on monthly bills, become more energy efficient, and protect the environment, officials said. The money saving tips include monitoring energy usage in homes, purchasing fuel-efficient hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars, insulating homes and using power strips to fully shut off multiple appliances and electronics that are not in use.

The Burden You Don't Want to Carry

Wed, 22/04/2009 - 10:54 by Christopher Barker

Railroads are accustomed to carrying heavy loads. Someday, North America's railroads will emerge from this downturn as the lean and efficient transporters they are; in the meantime, though, Fools may not wish to shoulder the sector's heavy burden.

Rig Count Chop Cuts Halliburton

Wed, 22/04/2009 - 06:32 by David Lee Smith

During the first half of 2008, as you may know, Halliburton (NYSE: HAL), the second largest of the oilfield services companies, rode a record run-up in global crude prices toward a similarly record year of its own. But on Monday, the company’s reported earnings slid down on a "significant volume reduction" and a "margin compression," and it was hit by a 35% year-over-year cut in its net income.

A Total Energy Package

Sat, 18/04/2009 - 17:36 by David Lee Smith

If you've assumed the energy industry has become comatose, clobbered by a now nearly year-long oil and gas price plummet, you haven't been paying attention to the activities of France's Total S.A. (NYSE: TOT).

Rig Count Vertigo

Sat, 18/04/2009 - 16:48 by Toby Shute

By the pace of declines in the natural gas drilling market, you'd think there were pirates prowling the plains of Oklahoma, rather than hanging around the Horn of Africa.

Dodging the Oil Patch Pullback

Sat, 18/04/2009 - 16:40 by Toby Shute

That oil services squeeze I've been talking about? It looks like Acergy (Nasdaq: ACGY) may be dodging the worst of it.

Oil Services Get Squeezed

Sat, 18/04/2009 - 11:16 by Toby Shute

In my last rig roundup, I suggested that oil and gas producers might be putting the screws to service companies. Oilfield supplies got tight during the boom, allowing contractors to ratchet up rates regardless of the service quality. Now that we've got a sharp slowdown in activity, the operators once more have the upper hand.

Are Tanker Stocks Toast?

Fri, 17/04/2009 - 14:38 by Toby Shute

Pretty much every factor imaginable is making life unpleasant for tanker owners these days. Let us count the ways:

Today's Oil Patch Jargon: "Spud"

Sat, 04/04/2009 - 15:49 by Toby Shute

If you're relatively new to the oil and gas space, tuning into a company webcast can be a little daunting. You will undoubtedly hear management and analysts tossing around all sorts of jargon. As an investor, you need to brush up on the lingo if you want to get the most information out of these calls.

Rigs on the Rebound

Sat, 04/04/2009 - 14:56 by Toby Shute

At a time when the oil services industry is in such great flux, I've come to find Patterson-UTI's (Nasdaq: PTEN) monthly operating updates invaluable. Two months ago, the data told me to dodge the land drillers. So, what does the picture look like now that the March numbers are in?

U.S. drilling boom ends as prices fall

Sun, 15/03/2009 - 18:57 by MT Bureau

Washington -- An effort to squeeze more oil and natural gas from aging U.S. fields has ended with the collapse of prices and plunging demand, figures show.

When oil prices were at record-high levels in the last year, U.S. companies went into "boom" mode, drilling new wells below airports, golf courses, churches and playgrounds. But now, statistics reveal those days are seemingly at an end, The New York Times reported.

The U.S. Energy Department says the number of oil and gas rigs set up to tap new domestic energy supplies has plunged to less than 1,200 from 2,400 last summer, with energy executives telling the newspaper the drop is accelerating further as the economic downturn batters demand for oil.

With global oil and American natural gas prices plummeting two-thirds since last summer, the expensive domestic drilling boom is over, analysts said.