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Subsea Oil Equipment Firms Poised To Gain: Analyst
Greg Levine, 08.22.06, 8:37 AM ET
FORBES
http://www.forbes.com/2006/08/22/dril-quip-0822markets01.html?partner=yahootix

There's black gold in the ocean -- and like a gold-rush town, there's money to be made for those who equip the diggers.

Morgan Stanley analyst Ole Slorer sees "substantial growth potential" for undersea equipment makers and construction firms.

He notes that "deepwater [oil] discoveries have risen steadily since 1998," citing a study by the U.S. Geological Survey that claims that some 176 billion barrels of petroleum and 920 trillion cubic feet of natural gas are still undiscovered in the oceans.

The analyst also points to a 35% expansion in the worldwide deepwater drilling fleet, and maintains that all these factors "should underpin demand for deepwater infrastructure well past 2010."

How to cash in on the briny deep?

Forget Halliburton and Schlumberger: Slorer declares that Morgan Stanley's "favorite names to play this trend" are Dril-Quip, which designs, manufactures and maintains deepwater and "harsh environment" drilling equipment; Cameron International, a provider of flow equipment systems and services, and for the human needs involved, FMC Technologies, a specialist in energy, food processing and air-transportation.

The analyst also hails expected near-term growth "driven by an increase in the number of planned deepwater projects, which is up 88% from last year."

Playing that expansion, Slorer notes that Morgan Stanley on Aug. 15 initiated coverage on Acergy and Subsea 7, rating both underwater construction companies "buy."

Acergy shares rose 4.68%, gaining 81 cents to end Monday at $18.12.