``Oil companies are pouring into the deepwater Gulf of Mexico and West Africa,' said Omar Nokta, head of maritime research at Dahlman Rose & Co. in New York, who has a ``buy' rating on Transocean shares. ``They're going deeper and deeper in some of the harshest areas, and they're looking for rigs for longer than ever before.'
Jose Sergio Gabrielli, chief executive officer of Petroleo Brasileiro SA, Brazil's state-controlled oil company, said in a May 5 interview that demand for floating rigs is outpacing supply as his company and others sign multiyear contracts to help ensure they are equipped for future drilling programs.
Oil futures traded in New York were 68 percent higher than a year earlier in the first quarter, the largest quarterly gain in 8 years, spurring a flurry of drilling. The number of rigs active worldwide rose to a 22-year high of 3,417 in February, according to statistics compiled by Baker Hughes Inc.
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