Analyst reports have recently suggested that the sub-sea equipment sector offers one of the best opportunities for growth, and that oil and gas service companies are increasingly investing in this sector to try and take advantage of that.
Schlumberger, one of the largest onshore and offshore equipment companies, believes that the industry push to move the separation process, of splitting the oil from the natural gas and water, to the ocean floor, will create huge investment opportunities.
Barclays wrote that "Schlumberger believes the key to unlocking the recovery potential of subsea will be to design and to optimize the entire subsea production system," and that such improvements in subsea technology could increase the amount of recoverable oil in the world by 10 percent.
Cameron, another leading provider of onshore and offshore equipment, has seen its aftermarket business for blowout preventers triple since 2005, and hope that more stringent safety regulations being imposed on offshore drillers will lead to an even larger increase in business. They are also developing a complete subsea equipment package in the belief that deep-water drilling will boom in the years to come.
National Oilwell Varco is one of Cameron's main competitors, vying for market dominance in the supply of subsea technology. Barclays have admitted that they "remain buyers of the stock as we believe National Oilwell Varco is one of the best ways to invest in the oilfield equipment revolution, which is unfolding in both onshore and especially offshore markets."
By. Joao Peixe of Oilprice.com
Joao is a writer for Oilprice.com More