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Rig Companies Better Be Ready for Another Gulf Oil Boom

By Tyler Crowe – Mar 23, 2014 at 2:00PM

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Activity in the Gulf of Mexico is expected to reach pre-Macondo levels again, but Seadrill, Ensco, and Transocean are the ones that have the assets to actually take advantage of it.

It's taken a little less than four years, but oil and gas activity in the Gulf of Mexico is expected to grow this year back to levels we saw before the Macondo well blowout incident. This may sound like great news for rig companies, but the ones that actually have a shot at taking advantage are the ones that have the young high specification fleets -- we're looking at you, Seadrill (SDRL), Ensco (VAL), and Transocean (RIG -4.30%).

The reason the Gulf will require more high-tech rigs is because 91% of the most recent oil discoveries in the Gulf have taken place in the deepwater regions, and there's little room for compromise when someone tries to drill a well at water depths as great as 10,000 feet. To find out more on why these three companies are in a better position than their peers, and why Seadrill is quite possibly the best positioned, tune into the video below.

Tyler Crowe has no position in any stocks mentioned. You can follow him at Fool.com under the handle TMFDirtyBird, on Google +, or on Twitter, @TylerCroweFool. 

The Motley Fool recommends Seadrill. The Motley Fool owns shares of Seadrill and Transocean. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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