For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 6, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the latest Industry Outlook. Today, Zacks Equity Research discusses the Oil & Gas sector, including CNOOC Ltd. (CEO), China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation, or Sinopec (SNP), Cameron International (CAM), Nabors (NBR) and Patterson-UTI (PTEN).

A synopsis of today’s Industry Outlook is presented below. The full article can be read at http://www.zacks.com/stock/news/26953/Oil+%26amp%3B+Gas+Industry.

The strengthening oil price environment should benefit producers, particularly those international players having attractive growth opportunities in their home markets. Two such standout names are China’s CNOOC Ltd. (CEO) and China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation, or Sinopec (SNP), both of which remain well-placed to benefit from the country’s growing appetite for energy.

CNOOC enjoys a monopoly on exploration activities in China’s very prospective offshore region in addition to having a growing presence

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OUTLOOK The improving economic scene, both here in the U.S. as well as worldwide, is the main driver of the current oil rally that has seen the commodity settling around the $80 per barrel level. But high levels of product inventories (particularly gasoline), along with still higher supplies, will limit any sustained crude gains, in our view. But way too many factors weigh on oil prices, from OPEC decisions and geostrategic tensions to the value of the U.S. dollar and seasonal variables, to definitively size up each one of them for their respective impact on prices.  In its latest release, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a less-than-anticipated increase in crude stockpiles, which rose by 800,000 barrels for the week ending October 23. However, current crude oil stocks, at 339.9 million barrels, still remain 9% above the year-earlier level as well as above the upper limit ...

Nabors Industries Ltd. (NBR) – North America’s largest onshore oil and natural gas driller – yesterday reported marginally weaker-than-expected third quarter results on the back of lower rig demand, as producers continued to scale back operations in the midst of falling commodity prices. Earnings per share, excluding non-cash items, came in at 15 cents, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny.   Revenue & Profitability   Compared to the third quarter of 2008, Nabors’ adjusted earnings per share declined 77.6% (from 67 cents to 15 cents) due to persistent weakness in its North American gas-centric businesses combined with less robust international results. Revenues were down 44.2% to $804 million as sales declined in all of the company’s segments.   Nabors’ main operating segment is ‘Contract Drilling’, which accounts for bulk of the company’s revenues and operating earnings. Its operations are spread across 6 sub-segments: U.S. Lower 48 ...

The emerging positive narrative of a favorable outlook for the U.S. economy has done wonders for the markets, particularly equities and commodities. The broad equity markets as well as most commodity groups are up smartly from their early-March lows.

Crude oil's gains have been even more impressive, given its heavy leverage to the health of the global economy. Our view is that oil should be able to hold onto its recent gains and consolidate around current levels, provided this favorable economic view remains in place.

While we have greater confidence in the staying power of the current oil rally, this does not mean that we will not see any short-term pullbacks. On the whole, we expect oil prices in 2010 to be higher than the 2009 levels, but remain significantly below the 2008 peak levels.

Crude oil's near-term fundamentals remain dismal, to say the least. Inventories in the U.S. are at multi-year highs

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The emerging positive narrative of a favorable outlook for the U.S. economy has done wonders for the markets, particularly equities and commodities. The broad equity markets as well as most commodity groups are up smartly from their early-March lows. Crude oil’s gains have been even more impressive, given its heavy leverage to the health of the global economy. Our view is that oil should be able to hold onto its recent gains and consolidate around current levels, provided this favorable economic view remains in place. While we have greater confidence in the staying power of the current oil rally, this does not mean that we will not see any short-term pullbacks. On the whole, we expect oil prices in 2010 to be higher than the 2009 levels, but remain significantly below the 2008 peak levels. Crude oil’s near-term fundamentals remain dismal, to say the least. Inventories ...

Nabors Industries (NBR) second-quarter earnings of $0.32 per share topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.28 buoyed by stronger margins associated with new rig deployments in its international operations and solid performance from the Alaska sub-segment.

However, results were significantly below year-earlier levels, reflecting a sustained slowdown in North American activity levels.

We remain concerned about the North American land drilling scene and its impact on Nabors, the largest onshore driller. This, coupled with the company s relatively weak balance sheet in an environment of continued credit market turmoil, accounts for our Underperform recommendation.Zacks Investment Research

In its weekly release yesterday, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a bigger-than-expected 54 billion cubic feet (Bcf) weekly addition to natural gas stockpiles for the week ended August 21. This takes the current storage level to 3.26 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), which is up 18.8% from last year's level and 18.1% above the five-year range (as clear from the nearby chart from the EIA). Current stocks are 516 Bcf above this last year and 500 Bcf above the five-year average.       The build was smaller than last year's 100 Bcf build and the five-year-average injection of 67 Bcf. However, the relentless increase in gas storage levels continue to add to the long list of issues weighing on the commodity. Natural gas prices rallied earlier last year, reaching over $13 per million Btu (MMBtu) in July 2008, before trending down. Prices have since dropped ...

Nabors Industries (NBR) second-quarter earnings of 32 cents per share topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 28 cents, buoyed by stronger margins associated with new rig deployments in its international operations and solid performance from the Alaska sub-segment.

However, results were significantly below year-earlier levels, reflecting a sustained slowdown in North American activity levels. We remain concerned about the North American land drilling scene and its impact on Nabors, the largest onshore driller.

This, coupled with the company's relatively weak balance sheet in an environment of continued credit market turmoil, accounts for our Underperform recommendation.Zacks Investment Research

Our Underperform recommendation for Nabors Industries (NBR) reflects our bearish view of the North American land-drilling scene, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the company’s total contract drilling earnings. The drop-off in drilling activities in response to the combination of commodity-price weakness and credit market tightness is weighing on the fortunes of all oilfield service players in general and land drillers (such as Nabors) in particular. The company did manage to post better-than-expected second-quarter earnings (topping the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4 cents) on the back of stronger margins associated with new rig deployments in its international operations and solid performance from the Alaska sub-segment. However, results were significantly below year-earlier levels, reflecting a sustained slowdown in North American activity levels. We remain concerned about the North American land-drilling scene and its impact on Nabors, the largest onshore driller. This, coupled with the company’s relatively ...

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – August 24, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: XTO Energy (XTO), Chesapeake (CHK), EOG Resources (EOG), Nabors (NBR) and BJ Services (BJS).

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Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog:

Natural Gas Continues to Build

Continued strong domestic production (from a number of unconventional natural gas fields) and recessionary consumption (due to the economic downturn), particularly in the industrial sector, are at the core of the commodity's current woes. The supply picture is expected to reverse in the coming months

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