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Show Outlook For U. S. Gas, Oil Drilling According to the Babson's Reports, Inc., June 25, 1981, the continuing emphasis on ex- Also, of considerable importance im-portance is the near-science of secondary recovery of oil from apparently depleted wells. Formerly, wiih crude prices at low levels, it was uneconomic to devote time and money to secondary recovery. However, Howev-er, with oil prices higher and undergoing price deregulation deregula-tion various recovery techniques techni-ques are employed to recover the last possible drop of the "black gold." BOTH ONSHORE and offshore, incentives for dulling dull-ing for hydrocarbons are strong. Although right now there seems to be a "glut" in world oil supplies, causing an easing in certain oil price structures struc-tures and in production, tins is a condition not to he relied on. Longer term, the price levels which began climbing in 1979 make drilling for oil and gas attractive from a monetary point of view . This is true even for regions previously too cosily to develop de-velop because of difficult geological or physical conditions. condi-tions. Improved equipment and lechniques also permit offshore operations in far deeper waters. One such venture ven-ture is a guyed tower platform in KHK) feet deep waters off Louisiana. Similar projects tainties of future pricing and production policies of the O'FC cartel, there is no question ques-tion hut that the U.S. will make every effort to reduce our reliance re-liance on imported petroleum by stepping up our demoslic drilling. ploration and development of domestic sources of oil and gas has brought a surge of drilling activity in the U.S. in the past several years. Drill rigs in service ser-vice on a recent date totaled a near-record 3.858 vs. 2,797 a year ago. Such activity is the obvious long-term answer to the world's high oil prices and the vagaries of petroleum politics poli-tics abroad. IN THIS country, onshore activity has been devoted largely to development drilling and wildcat exploration forays in deep and-or complex geologic geolo-gic formations where much of our remaining undiscovered hydrocarbon reserves will likely be found. Offshore, there has been an even stronger stron-ger surge in drilling. Evidence of this is seen in the large num-er num-er of rigs under contract and also in the rig construction figures. fi-gures. Today, a tally of offshore rigs being built reads as follows: fol-lows: submersibles II, semi-submersibles semi-submersibles 44, jackups 161, and drillships 4. These units are scheduled for delivery out to 1983, but even now most are already committed to contracts. con-tracts. Not only are drilling utilization uti-lization rates at a high level, but brisk demand has meant rising charter day rates as contracts con-tracts come up for renewal. And, although the offshore oil field drilling and services industry in-dustry has been prone to supply-demand inbalances in the past, the outlook seems favorable favor-able for the foreseeable future, at least till 1985. WITH INDICATIONS of a lively rate of oil and gas drilling over the near term, it follows that demand for oil field services ser-vices will be at a high level. Preliminary to drilling, seismic studies estalish exploration strategy. With these now at a record, it indicates future drilling drill-ing with consequent good demand de-mand for all types of drill bits. will also provide access to the unexplored depths of the Outer Out-er Continental Shelf. WHILE THE overall outlook out-look is excellent for offshore drilling and oil field services, there are a handful of minor limitations. As we have already noted, utilization rates are high, but as more new rigs go into service the difficulty in finding enough trained crews becomes a restrictive factor. In addition, from time to time there are bound to be spot shortages in various types of oil field hardware, particularly in drill pipe. However, with the uncer- |