Shares of Logan International (TSE:LII) soared Wednesday as the company announced that its board has decided to undertake a strategic review process in its efforts to maximize shareholder value, which includes seeking proposals from potential buyers. 

The oilfield tooling company said it has hired Simmons & Company International as the financial advisor to assist in the process, which is not in response to any proposal. 

Logan made the decision for the strategic review in light of its shares trading at a "substantial discount to the inherent value of the businesses and underlying assets" based on its current share price, assets and operations, it said in the statement Wednesday. 

It outlined no set schedule so as to complete the strategic review, but said that any course of action approved by the board will be disclosed. 

Logan manufactures and sells a  line of fishing and intervention tools, including retrieving, stroking, and remedial tools, and power swivels for a variety of well workover, intervention, drilling, and completion activities.

Its shares gained 12.5 per cent on Wednesday to $5.85, stretching year-to-date gains to more than 94 per cent. 

Enerplus Corp. (TSE:ERF), a Canadian oil and gas exploration and production company, said its net loss narrowed in the first quarter as it slashed capital spending and monthly dividends. Shares jumped in early trading.

Net loss in the three months ended March 31 narrowed to C$5.24 million, or 3 Canadian cents a share, from a net loss of C$33.82 million, or 18 Canadian cents a share, in the year-earlier period, the Calgary-based company said in a statement on Friday. 

The company ascribed the loss to non-cash mark-to-market losses on commodity derivatives, which were resulted from higher forecast commodity prices at the end of the quarter.

Funds Flow increased to C$172.60 million, 87 Canadian cents a share, from C$162.71 million, or 86 Canadian cents a share a year earlier.

The comany lowered capital spending to C$173 million in the first quarter from C$317.1 million a year earlier, and reduced cash and stock dividends to C$53.7 million from C$106 million.

The company said it average production in the January-to-March period increased to 87,183 barrels of oil equivalent per day, or boe/d, from 79,190  boe/d in the year-earlier period,  driven by record production levels from the Marcellus and Fort Berthold assets in North Dakota.

Enerplus maintained its 2013 average production guidance of 82,000 to 85,000 boe/d with an exit rate of 84,000 to 88,000 boe/d, despite the sale of 600 boe/d. 

Shares of Enerplus, with a market value of C$2.94 billion, advanced 3.2 percent to C$14.82 in early trading in Toronto on Friday, after the report was released. The shares have gained approximately 15 percent this year.

The current consensus among 16 analysts is to "buy" the stock.

Calfrac Well Services' (TSE:CFW) buy rating from Stifel Nicolaus held up, the same day the Calgary-based oilfield services provider suffered a plunge in profits following increased pricing pressure on US operations, according to figures released Wednesday.

Net income attributable to shareholders in Calfrac for the three months that ended March 31, which included a non-cash foreign exchange gain of C$2.4 million, came in at $24.6 million for earnings of $0.54 per diluted share, compared to the same figures for the first three months of 2012 which were $70.84 million, or $1.59 per diluted share.

However, as Stifel Nicolaus points out in an analyst’s note released Wednesday, this result was two cents above consensus and more than double the company’s earnings per share from the fourth quarter of 2012, which came in at $0.25.

Net income attributable to the shareholders of Calfrac before foreign exchange gains came in at $22.7 million for 50 cents per diluted share from last year's equivalent figures of $59.3 million, or $1.33 per diluted share.

Revenue of C$423.4 million for the quarter was down from the year-ago equivalent of $474.1 million, a drop of 11 per cent driven primarily by lower pricing in the United States and Canada and partially offset by strong growth in the company’s Russian operations. However, the result is up on Stifel Nicolaus' predictions, coming in at two per cent above consensus and at a 15 per cent bump on the same figures for the final quarter of last year.

Revenue from Calfrac's Canadian operations during the quarter came in at $231.6 million, compared to the comparable figure of $225.8 million for the year-ago period, a 3 per cent bump attributable to larger job sizes in specific plays combined with favourable weather conditions -- allowing for continued high utilization through the end of the quarter -- that was partially offset by increased pricing pressure in western Canada.

Revenue from the company’s United States operations was $127 million for the quarter, down from the $194.9 million recorded a year earlier, a decrease due principally to increased pricing pressure and the completion of smaller jobs. 

Revenue from the company’s Russian operations hit $37.2 million from $28.1 million in the corresponding three-month period of 2012, a spike of 32 per cent. This increase was mainly due to higher fracturing activity in the area, although the increase in revenue from fracturing operations was partially offset by lower coiled tubing activity.

Calfrac's Latin America operations generated total revenue of $27.7 million for the quarter compared to the year-ago figure of $25.3 million, on higher coiled tubing activity offset slightly by lower fracturing activity in the Burgos field of northern Mexico.

“During the first quarter, the company had a very active quarter in western Canada despite a slow start in January,” said CEO Douglas R. Ramsay, in a message released with quarterly results.

“[Calfrac]deployed a fourth fracturing crew to Calfrac's Smithfield, Pennsylvania district which services both the Marcellus and Utica shale plays, experienced further increases in the number of horizontal multi-stage fracturing treatments performed in Mexico and Western Siberia, and completed the deployment of fracturing equipment into Argentina in anticipation of fracturing operations which commenced in early May 2013.”

Shares in the company were trading up on the TSX this morning, with the stock hitting an intraday high of $26.10 from an open of $25.75. Stifel Nicolaus' forecast for the stock is currently $30 per share.

Enbridge Inc. (TSE:ENB), Canada's largest pipeline company, said its adjusted profit in the first quarter rose 31 percent, as oil export volumes increased.

Net income for the three months that ended March 31 dropped to C$250 million, or 31 Canadian cents a share, from C$261 million, or 34 cents a share, a year earlier, the Calgary-based company said in a statement on Wednesday, ascribing the decline to "changes in unrealized derivative fair value gains or losses."

Taking out one-time items, the company's per-share profit increased to 62 Canadian cents a share from 49 Canadian cents a year earlier, surpassing the 52 cent average of 13 analysts’ estimates. The company attributed the increase in adjusted earnings to higher volume throughput and tolls, specifically a higher Canadian Mainline International Joint Tariff Residual Benchmark Toll. "Demand for discounted Canadian crude by mid-west refiners remained high and drove an increase in long-haul barrels," the company said.

Looking ahead, the company maintained its full-year adjusted earnings guidance target range of $1.74 to $1.90 a share. Analysts on average are modelling earnings of $1.80 a share.

"Although we are pleased to be off to a good start, we expect more moderate growth for the balance of the year," CEO Al Monaco said in the statement.

"We continue to be on track and on budget with the execution of a record number of commercially secured growth projects which we expect will provide a foundation for growth beyond 2013," he added. 

Enbridge, which is the largest transporter of Canadian crude to the U.S., owns and operates Canada’s largest oil pipeline network, covering 24,738 kilometres and shipping more than 2.2 million barrels of crude and liquids a day.

The shares rose 0.3 percent to C$47.55 at the close in Toronto on Tuesday, giving the company a market value of C$38.35 billion. The stock has gained 10.5 percent since the beginning of the year, outpacing the benchmark Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index (TSE:OSPTX), which has advanced 0.3 percent.

The stock has 11 "buy", 3 "hold" and one "underperform" recommendations from analysts.

Ensign Energy Services (TSE:ESI), a Canadian oilfield-services provider, said its profit fell 38 percent in the first quarter, missing analysts' expectations, as demand for oilfield services in North America retreated.

Net income for the three months that ended March 31 decreased to $64.9 million, or 42 cents a share, from $105.5 million, or 69 cents a share, in the year-earlier period, the Calgary-based company said in a statement on Monday. Taking out a share-based compensation expense, Ensign earned 45 cents a share, below the 47 cents a share predicted by 12 analysts on average.

Revenue for the January-March period fell 14 percent to $581.1 million from a year earlier, as operating activity in North America dropped, according to the statement. This also trailed the $615.7 million average forecast by analysts.

The largest revenue-generating geographical area in the first quarter was Canada with 44 percent, followed by the U.S. with 35 percent. Canadian drilling fell 28 percent to 5,329 operating days, and U.S. drilling slid 13 percent to 5,504 operating days. 

Revenue from international operations, which accounted for 21 percent of total revenue, rose 21 percent to $124.7 million in the first quarter, even though international drilling decreased 3 percent to 2,712 operating days.

Looking ahead, the company anticipated Canadian drilling activity to be similar or slightly lower this year compared with last year, while prospects for international operations remain positive for the rest of the year with some caution in Latin America due to the recent presidential elections in Venezuela. 

As for the U.S., the company said it is cautiously optimistic that improving natural gas prices and stable crude oil and liquid prices will support drilling activity levels this year.

Ensign said it will distribute a quarterly cash dividend of 11 cents per common share, payable July 5.

Stifel Nicolaus Canada, which has a "hold" rating on the stock, said Ensign's international operations "are characterized by longer visibility on activity and a higher level of contracts."

The shares rose 1.7 percent to C$16.63 at the 4 p.m. close in Toronto on Friday, giving the company a market value of C$2.55 billion. The stock has gained approximately 9 percent so far this year, outperforming the benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index (TSE:OSPTX), which has gained less than 0.1 percent.

Stifel Nicolaus left its buy rating intact on Precision Drilling (TSE:PD) after the oil and gas services company reported quarterly results on Thursday, citing anticipation of "Precision's North American rig building machine" starting up again in the next few quarters. 

"We believe Precision is developing an optimized fleet to take advantage of the high-demand drilling opportunities we expect over the near- to long-term and is setting itself up to be among the utilization leaders during times of slower activity without having to sacrifice margins," wrote analyst Lara King. 

"In Canada, the first contracts for rigs to develop the emerging plays are expected to be awarded in the next couple of quarters. Further, management believes that the economics are improving for new build contracts in the United States and that it could have something to announce shortly," she said, adding that beyond North America, Precision expects to add rigs in Mexico and Kurdistan in 2013 and into Kuwait in 2014. 

On Thursday, the company reported first quarter earnings per share of 33 cents - above Stifel's estimate of 27 cents, and consensus forecasts of 30 cents. Revenue of $595.7 million beat Stifel's estimate of $567.5 million by 5 per cent and was just above consensus of $594.2 million.

In the United States, Precision's active rig count fell roughly 8 per cent through the first quarter, before rebounding in April to near year-end 2012 levels. "We expect Precision's active rig count to remain relatively flat through 2013. Management suggested on its conference call that negotiations on new builds are becoming more economically convincing and, thus, we might expect new-build announcements shortly," King reiterated. 

On slightly lower activity expectations in the U.S., Stifel lowered its 2013 EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) estimate to $659.7 million from $687.5 million, while it lowered its 2013 earnings per share forecast to 72 cents from 85 cents previously. 

The brokerage firm also introduced 2014 estimates for Precision, predicting earnings per share of 83 cents, and maintaining its target price for the company of $10.00 per share. 

"Precision's shares are trading at 11.3x our 2013 EPS estimate and 9.8x our 2014 EPS estimate, below its U.S.-based peers," the report concluded. Shares of Precision Drilling were trading Friday mid afternoon at $8.02, down almost 1 per cent, stretching year-to-date losses to more than 2.4 per cent. 

Precision Drilling (TSE:PD) felt the sting of lower natural gas prices in the first quarter after net income dipped 16 per cent.

Discounted regional prices as a result of bottlenecks transporting oil also hurt the bottom line, which came in at $93 million or 33 cents per diluted share, compared to $111 million or 39 cents per diluted share in the first quarter of 2012. 

Although revenue dipped seven per cent to $596 million as domestic activity waned, the company remains optimistic.

"I am pleased with Precision’s strong financial performance during the first quarter despite subdued North American industry activity levels that continue to disappoint many in the industry." said Kevin Neveu, president and CEO of Precision Drilling.

International operations were a bright spot, with nearly four times the operating days compared to the first quarter last year. Precision says it plans to add five rigs over the next 12 months. There were eight rigs on average in operation, six higher than the same period a year ago. 

The average rig count fell in North America, down 11 rigs to 123 year over year in Canada and down 22 rigs to 81 in the United States. Precision expects the U.S. figure to remain at the same level but in Canada sees softness ahead in the next three months. 

As part of the $533 million Precision has alloted toward capital spending in 2013, $237 million will go toward expansion. 

In a note released today, analysts at Stifel Nicolaus maintained a buy rating on the stock and a $10 target price, based on a belief in Precision's ability to capitalize on opportunities and withstand an industry slowdown. 

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP), the largest independent U.S. oil and natural gas producer, said profit in the first quarter dropped as oil and natural gas output fell on lower crude prices.

Net income for the three months that ended March 31 dropped to $2.1 billion, or $1.73 a share, from $2.9 billion, or $2.27 a share, a year earlier, the Houston-based company said in a statement on Thursday. 

Excluding one-time items, first-quarter profit fell to $1.8 billion, or $1.42 a share, from $1.8 billion, or $1.38 a share, a year earlier, matching the $1.42 average of 20 estimates compiled by Bloomberg. 

The company’s total realized price in the January-to-March period fell to $68.57 a barrel of oil equivalent, compared to $70.78 per barrel of oil equivalent a year earlier.

Oil and gas output from continuing operations slid to 1.56 million barrels oil equivalent per day (boepd), from 1.58 million boepd a year earlier, according to the statement.

Combined production from its Eagle Ford, Bakken and Permian fields rose 42 percent over a year earlier, and oil sands production averaged 109 MBOED, up 30 per cent over the first quarter of last year.

Looking ahead, the company reaffirmed its output guidance, projecting second-quarter production from continuing operations to be 1.44 million to 1.47 million boepd. Full-year production from continuing operations is expected to be 1.48 million to 1.52 million boepd.

The company has announced plans to dispose of its interests in Kashagan and its Algeria and Nigeria businesses. These transactions are expected to close this year, generating expected proceeds of approximately $8.5 billion, it said.

“Our base business is operating to plan, our development programs and major projects are performing as expected," CEO Ryan Lance said in the statement. "We are on track to deliver production and margin improvements this year."

As of March 31, ConocoPhillips had operations in 30 countries, approximately 17,100 employees, debt of $21.7 billion and a debt-to-capital ratio of 31 percent.

The shares were unchanged in premarket trading in New York on Thursday after the report was released. 

The stock lost approximately 20 percent over the past 12 months through April 24, underperforming the Dow Jones Industrial Average index (INDEXDJX:.DJI) which gained 13 percent.

Encana Corp. (TSE:ECA), Canada’s largest natural-gas producer, reported a first-quarter net loss from a profit a year earlier after setting aside currency losses and provisions for hedging.

Net loss for the quarter that ended March 31 was $431 million, compared with net income of $12 million a year earlier, the Calgary-based company said in a statement on Tuesday.  

Excluding one-time items, Encana's first-quarter operating income fell to $179 million, or 24 cents a share, from $240 million, or 33 cents a share, in the year-earlier. That beat the average estimate of 13 analysts, which was for 6 cents a share.

Encana reported a non-operating foreign-exchange loss of $101 million, versus an $86 million gain in the year-earlier period. As of March 31, Encana had hedged approximately 1.515 billion cubic feet a day of expected April to December 2013 natural gas output, at an average price of $4.39 per thousand cubic feet. 

Cash flow in the quarter fell to $579-million or 79 cents a share, from $1.02-billion or $1.39 a share.

"Our focus remains on reducing costs and increasing our profitability," interim president and CEO Clayton Woitas was quoted as saying in the statement. "We expect the cost reduction efforts we've made at the beginning of this year to have an impact on our financial results during the second half of the year."

Encana said it plans to complete the search for the next chief executive by the end of June. CEO Randall Eresman resigned in January after six years in the helm.

Encana's shares advanced 0.9 percent to C$19.46 in early trading in Toronto on Tuesday after the earnings were announced. The stock has gained approximately 11 percent over the past 12 months, outpacing the 0.6 per cent advance of the S&P/TSX Composite index (TSE:OSPTX).

Encana's oil and natural gas liquids output increased 48 percent to 43,500 barrels a day, while its average gas production dropped 12 percent to 2,877 million cubic feet per day. 

The company also announced a dividend of $0.20 per share payable on June 28 to common shareholders of record as of June 14.

Halliburton Co. (NYSE:HAL), the world's second-largest oilfield services company, swung to a loss in the first quarter on $637 million in costs for the U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil spill at a well it performed work in 2010, but adjusted results surpassed analysts' expectations. Shares gained in early trading.

The Houston, Texas-based company said in a statement on Monday that net loss for the quarter that ended March 31 was $13 million, or 1 cent a share, compared with a year-earlier profit of $635 million, or 69 cents a share. 

Excluding unusual items, Halliburton reported a profit of 62 cents a share, ahead of the 57 cents a share that 32 analysts, on average, predicted.

Revenue increased 1.5 percent to $6.97 billion, above the average estimate of $6.88 billion.

Halliburton carried out cementing work on BP Plc (NYSE:BP)’s Macondo well in the Gulf. An explosion at the site caused the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history. 

Halliburton said it was in court-facilitated talks to settle private claims against it in the trial to determine blame for the Macondo incident.

"Our most recent offer includes both stock and cash, with the cash components payable over an extended period of time," CEO David Lesar was quoted in the statement as saying. "Discussions are at an advanced stage but have not yet resulted in a settlement." 

The company projected growth in international revenue and margins. “For the full year, we continue to expect total international revenue growth in the low teens relative to 2012, and expect full year international margins to average in the upper teens," Lesar said.

Halliburton also anticipates additional repurchases of the stock during the second quarter. The company repurchased 1.2 million shares of common stock for $50 million during the first quarter. Since the inception of the stock repurchase program in 2006, Halliburton has purchased 97 million shares for $3.3 billion.

Halliburton's shares gained 5.2 percent to $39.21 in early trading. The stock gained approximately 7 percent since the start of the year through April 19.

Schlumberger’s (NYSE:SLB) first quarter results have topped analyst estimates on a strong rise in revenue, mainly due to marked growth in international markets as North American sales were weaker.

The results for the oilfield services company were up on the year-ago period, but down on the quarter ending calendar 2012, a fact attributed to a normal seasonal slowdown and lower product sales. 

Net income for the Houston-based company for the period ending March 31 came in at US$1.26 billion, down 3.2 per cent on the US$1.30 billion recorded for the same quarter last year. Diluted earnings per share came in at 94 cents, compared to 97 cents a year ago.

The latest quarter included charges of seven cents a share, while the year-earlier quarter included costs of one cent a share. 

Revenue was up almost eight per cent, with US$10.67 billion reported for the quarter, against US$9.92 for the same quarter last year. 

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had most recently forecast per-share earnings of 99 cents a share on revenue of $10.73 billion.

Revenue was buoyed by strong activity in markets outside North America, primarily the Middle East and Asia area, with international area revenue of US$7.26 billion representing a US$853 million bump from the same quarter in 2012, a rise of 13 per cent year-on-year. 

The Middle East and Asia area returned strong results with revenue of US$2.5 million reflecting growth of 21 per cent, driven by Saudi Arabia, Iraq and sustained land and offshore drilling in the Australasian and Chinese markets.

Revenue from the Europe/CIS/Africa area increased 11 per cent to hit US$2.9 billion, led by strong development and exploration activities in the sub-Saharan region of Africa.

The North American market was beset by pricing and activity weakness on land in the U.S., which was partially offset by strong activity in the Canadian market and solid results from the Gulf of Mexico. Revenue for North America came in at $3.29 billion, representing a 4.2 per cent year-on-year decline.

While the weakening of the market for land services in North America resulted in pressure on contracts, pricing trends for the international sectors remained unchanged in the first quarter, continuing the steady increase in revenue per rig that now stretches back six quarters.

The company emphasized that the outlook for North America remains uncertain.

The results come on the same day that Baker Hughes (NYSE:BHI), another large oilfield services provider, reported a 30 per cent fall in profit attributable to a weak North American market, further emphasizing that with roughly two thirds of revenue for 2012 stemming from international operations, Schlumberger is less subject to the softening of the North American market.

“International strength, in combination with resilience to challenging market conditions in North America, led to solid performance in the first quarter,” said Schlumberger CEO Paal Kibsgaard in the statement Friday. 

"While our sequential results displayed the effects of the normal seasonal slowdown in the Northern Hemisphere and the Far East, as well as lower product sales compared to the fourth quarter, our year-on-year figures demonstrated the potential of the international market, the strength of our execution, and the importance of our integration capabilities.”

Shares in Schlumberger were up this morning, trading at US$72.13, a rise of 1.13 cents or 1.59 per cent.

Baker Hughes (NYSE: BHI) reported Friday first quarter profit that topped Wall Street estimates, despite net income declining sharply on a year earlier, with the oil field services firm citing a hefty foreign exchange loss tied to the devaluation of Venezuela's currency in February. 

For the quarter that ended March 31, net income attributable to Baker Hughes was $267 million, or 60 cents per share, compared to $379 million, or 86 cents per share, a year earlier. 

Adjusted for the foreign exchange loss of $23 million, profit in the latest period was $290 million, or 65 cents per share. 

Revenue for the quarter was $5.23 billion, down 2 per cent from $5.36 billion in the year ago period. 

Analysts were looking for earnings of 62 cents a share on $5.18 billion in revenue, according to a poll conducted by Thomson Reuters.

North American revenue in the first quarter declined to $2.6 billion from $2.86 billion in the same quarter last year. The company said that following five consecutive quarters of declines in the U.S. rig count, it is now forecasting a "modest increase" for the remainder of the year.

Latin America revenue increased to $590 from $573 million, while sales from the Europe/Africa/Russia Caspian region fell to $854 million from $893 million a year earlier. Sales in the Middle East/Asia Pacific grew to $894 million from $745 million. 

"Across our international segments, we saw our typical seasonal declines during the quarter, with particular weakness in our Europe/Africa/Russia Caspian segment," said president and CEO Martin Craighead. "However, I am pleased with the improving performance of our Middle East region where we continue to grow our integrated operations business, and expand our product offering to include pressure pumping services." 

Indeed, the CEO said in the statement that the Middle East/Asia Pacific unit ended the quarter as its largest international segment for the first time, reflecting investments it has made over the years to expand its global infrastructure. 

The company said that during the quarter, the Gulf of Mexico was impacted by "industry-wide" delays, but Baker Hughes said it remains encouraged by the long-term potential of this deepwater market, as well as for Norway. 

Rival Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) also reported first quarter results today, and said earnings fell on lower revenue from North America, despite stronger international sales. 

Shares of Baker Hughes rose more than 2.2 per cent to $45.57 in early deals, while Schlumberger's stock rose 3.2 per cent to $73.28. 

Analyst Aminul Hague at Stonecap Securities took a closer look on Tuesday at Tuscany International Drilling (TSE:TID) - a day after the company's shares gained 50 percent on the hiring of Citibank Global Advisors and Black Spruce Merchant Capital to help in searching for strategic alternatives designed to boost shareholder value. 

Management made it clear that the sale of the company, whole or in part, is not one of the alternatives. The financial advisors are to focus on strategic alternatives, while management is to focus on operations. 

The analyst notes that in the brokerage firm's view, improving utlization rates and margins would have the greatest impact on Tuscany's 2013 performance.  The company, a Canadian provider of oilfield services with operations in South America, offers drilling, completion, workover, and equipment rental services to exploration and production companies in Colombia, Ecuador, Trinidad, Brazil, Gabon, Congo, and Tanzania.

Hague says that although high leverage - with total debt of $245.0 million drawn out of a $255.0 million limit - remains one of the critical issues facing Tuscany, the company has the capacity to service term and interest payments. It also has "a number" of options to refinance the loans, he adds. 

With regards to improving utilization rates, the analyst takes note of the fact that eight idle rigs are expected to be contracted out in Colombia and Brazil throughout this year, with overall utilization rates in 2013 expected to exceed 75 percent. 

Improving margins would also benefit the company, Hague believes, as Tuscany's fourth quarter 2012 margins declined considerably because of labour costs associated with terminated contracts. 

"We expect some of these costs to be recouped at completion of the currently ongoing arbitration process. Also, a leaner workforce and higher utilization should also contribute to improving margins," Hague writes in his morning research note. 

"Despite persistent weakness in the North American drilling market, international land drilling markets remain strong. Although it may not be an alternative considered by TID management, the attractiveness of TID’s international platform to larger North American drilling contractors puts a floor to TID’s valuation," he concludes. 

The analyst maintained his outperform rating on the company, with a 40 cent price target. Shares of the company were trading up today by one penny at 14.5 cents. 

Tuesday, Tuscany announced that effective April 18, director Jeff Scott will be resigning from his position to avoid "any potential conflicts of interest" arising from his present business endeavours. 

Tuscany International Drilling (TSE:TID), a Canadian provider of oilfield services with operations in South America, hired two financial advisors to conduct a review of strategic alternatives of the company, whose market value almost halved over the past 12 months.

Tuscany International, which has lost approximately 82 percent of its market value since April 9, 2012, retained Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Black Spruce Merchant Capital Corp. (BSMC) as financial advisors "to consider a range of potential strategic alternatives for the company with a goal to enhancing shareholder value," the Calgary-based company said in a statement on Monday.

Tuscany stopped short of making sure any transaction will occur, adding that the timeline for that strategic review has not been defined. 

"The board has been focused on the recent decline in Tuscany's share price, which we do not believe reflects the long-term value of the company," the statement quoted CEO Walter Dawson as saying. 

"We have taken proactive steps by appointing two well-regarded financial advisors in Citi and BSMC to work alongside us to develop ways to enhance shareholder value," he said.

On March 21, Tuscany said its fourth-quarter net loss widened almost nine-fold to $35.9 million, or 10 cents a share, trailing the average estimate of four analysts which was for a profit of 1 Canadian cent a share.

Shares of Tuscany, whose market value is currently at approximately $45.2 million, soared as much as 50 percent to 13.5 Canadian cents in afternoon trading in Toronto on Monday.

Tuscany International offers drilling, completion, workover, and equipment rental services to exploration and production companies in Colombia, Ecuador, Trinidad, Brazil, Gabon, Congo, and Tanzania.

Lufkin Industries (NASDAQ:LUFK), the maker of artificial lift technologies and industrial equipment, surged about 38 percent in premarket trading on Monday after General Electric Co. (NYSE:GE) agreed to acquire the Lufkin, Texas-based company for $3.3 billion.

Lufkin shares advanced to $87.83 at 8:16 a.m. in New York, headed to the highest intraday price in almost two years.

Shareholders of Lufkin, which makes pumping equipment that helps drillers extract more oil out of older oil fields, will receive $88.50 in cash for each Lufkin share, according to a statement released on Monday. The price is 38 percent more than the $63.93 closing last Friday. The deal is expected to close in the second half of this year.

“The artificial lift segment is at the heart of critical changes that are helping producers maximize well potential–which translates into increased output at lower operational cost," Daniel C. Heintzelman, president and chief executive officer of GE Oil & Gas, said in the statement. "This acquisition allows us to further utilize [Lufkin's] technologies and expertise for our customers.”

In 2012, about 10 percent of GE's revenue came from oil and gas business. 

Fairfield, Connecticut-bsed GE has been boosting its presence in the energy sector. It has been transforming into a conglomerate that is focused on providing services and equipment to industrial customers. It is shrinking its banking operations and it has shed divisions such as NBC Universal.

GE's shares edged up 0.3 percent to $22.93 in premarket trading.

Artificial lift is used in 94 percent of the roughly 1 million oil-producing wells around the world. It helps lift hydrocarbons to the surface in reservoirs with low pressure and improves the efficiency of naturally flowing wells. 

With approximately 4,500 employees, Lufkin has operations in more than 40 countries including the United States, Canada, Latin America, the Middle East and Europe.

Lufkin said it believed that transaction would allow it to realize its strategic objectives for expanding both its portfolio and global platform. "[The transaction] will allow us to reach global customers much faster and more effectively than we could have done as a standalone company," said John F. "Jay" Glick, Lufkin’s president and chief executive officer, in the statement.

Shares slipped 0.82 per cent as at about 9:30 a.m. EDT, trading at $3.65.

Forbes provides a range of drilling-related and production-related services to oil and natural gas companies, primarily onshore in Texas, Mississippi and Pennsylvania.  

For the period that ended December 31, the company posted a net loss from U.S. operations of $4.6 million or 22 cents per diluted share, compared to net income of $5.2 million or 20 cents per diluted share, a year earlier.

Revenues decreased to $107.0 million, compared to the $124.5 million reported in the year-ago quarter.

Gross profit fell to $21.6 million or 20.2 per cent of revenues, compared to $35.0 million or 28.1 per cent of revenues, in the same period of 2011.

"2012 was a good year overall as we saw consolidated revenues increase year over year,” said president and CEO John Crisp.  “The fourth quarter was challenging as steadily weakening demand reduced utilization and increased pricing pressure in most of our markets.” 

Crisp said the company is “very excited” about its coiled tubing business and recevied its fourth coiled tubing spread in December, which should take delivery of its last unit the first half of this month. 

“Interest from customers for the units is very encouraging,” he added. “As of the end of last week, all four units were active in the field."

In the company’s well servicing segment, revenues fell to $48.6 million, compared to $51.0 million in the prior year's quarter. Segment gross profit totaled $8.2 million, or 16.8 per cent of revenues, versus $12.5 million, or 24.4 per cent of revenues a year earlier.

Forbes said the decrease is attributable to fewer 24-hour rigs working, higher group and workers compensation insurance expense and “other factors in line with cyclical industry trends”.

The company recorded about 96,282 U.S. rig hours for the fourth quarter, compared to 112,044 in the year-ago quarter. 

As of December 31, Forbes had 162 well service rigs, nine tubing testing systems, four pump-down units and four coiled tubing spreads.

In its fluid logistics and other segment, revenues stood at $58.5 million, compared to $73.5 million a year earlier. Gross operating profit totaled $13.5 million or 23.0 per cent of revenues, versus $22.5 million or 30.6 per cent of revenues, in the prior year's quarter.

Forbes said it recorded 374,664 truck hours during the quarter, compared to 431,140 hours for the same period of 2011. The company's heavy truck fleet totalled 578 at December 31, which included 494 vacuum trucks. 

The company had $17.6 million in unrestricted cash and $1.4 million of restricted cash at the end of the period. 

Tuscany International Drilling (TSE:TID), a Canadian provider of oilfield services with operations in South America, widened its loss almost ninefold in the fourth quarter.

Net loss for the quarter that ended Dec. 31 increased to C$35.9 million, or 10 cents a share, from C$4.1 million, or 2 cents a share, in the year-earlier period, the Calgary-based company said in a statement on Thursday. The average estimate of four analysts was for a profit of 1 Canadian cent per share.

Revenue for the period dropped 20 percent to C$75 million.

Tuscany said its operating rig utilization was 65 percent as of Dec. 31, with 24 of 37 rigs under contract. Brazil continued to be a challenging market at the end of 2012, with 4 rigs under contract, while Colombia was beginning to show improvement with 9 rigs under contract, it said.

Shares of Tuscany, with a market value of C$59.1 million, plunged 13.6 percent to 16.5 cents at 12:46 p.m. in Toronto. The stock has lost as much as 29 percent so far this year.

Funds from operations in the September-December quarter rose 15 percent to C$8.5 million. The number of drilling and heavy-duty workover rigs earning revenue from drilling operations rose to 37 rigs as of December 31, 2012, compared with 34 rigs a year earlier.

Looking forward, Tuscany forecast general and administrative expenses to decrease marginally as a percentage of revenue in 2013 as revenue increases with higher expected rig utilization.

Tuscany said its rig utilization is improving in the January-March quarter, with 2 idled rigs in Africa currently awarded to LOI's and 4 idled rigs in Colombia either awarded LOI's or in the final stages of contract negotiation. 

"We would expect these new opportunities to be under contract and working no later than end of the second quarter," the statement said, adding that prospects for two additional rigs to be under contract by the beginning of the fourth quarter "remain very strong, including the opportunity of at least one of our Brazilian Heli rigs."

Tuscany International offers drilling, completion, workover, and equipment rental services to exploration and production companies in Colombia, Ecuador, Trinidad, Brazil, Gabon, Congo, and Tanzania.

Ensign Energy Services Inc. (TSE:ESI), a Canadian oilfield-services provider, had its rating lowered to "hold" from "buy" at Stifel Nicolaus.

The brokerage and investment banking firm said it cut its rating on Calgary-based Ensign as "the shares are trading near-or-above historical levels". The stock has rallied 12 percent so far this year. 

Shares of Ensign, which has a market value of C$2.6 billion, fell 2 percent to C$17.20 at 1:46 p.m. in Toronto on Tuesday.

Stifel set a fair value range of between $17.00 and $19.00, "based on Ensign's long-term trading levels of 12.5 times [Stifel's] estimated earnings per share for 2013 (on the lower end) and 6 times [Stifel's] enterprise value/earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (on the high end)," the brokerage wrote.

Ensign reported on Monday an 8 percent decrease in its fourth-quarter net income to $48 million, or 32 cents per common share, while revenues declined 8 percent to $530.1 million. Stifel said Ensign had beaten its forecast for a profit of 24 cents a share and revenue of $508.7 million.

Stifel believes that this year, Ensign's international rigs could outperform as its Libyan operations are ramping back up. Eight of its nine rigs are currently operating in Venezuela, and Australia is home for 18 of Ensign's rigs which exhibited improving utilization through last year.

Opportunities for additional rigs as well as the potential of expanding some of Ensign's ancillary North American services exist in Australia in 2013, as well as select other regions, the brokerage added. 

Stifel Nicolaus on Monday reiterated its “buy” recommendation for oilfield service provider Ensign Energy Services (TSE:ESI), after the company released fourth quarter results that met or exceeded the firm’s expectations.

Stifel analyst Lara King also kept her target price of $19, as Ensign's results were helped by higher realized pricing and a lower tax rate, she noted.

For the quarter that ended December 31, Ensign reported net income of $48.5 million to 32 cents per share, down eight per cent compared to $52.6 million or 34 cents per share a year earlier.

Adjusted net income was $47.9 million or 31 cents per share, compared to $57.9 million or 38 cents per share a year earlier.

Meanwhile, revenues decreased eight per cent to $530.1 million, from $577.9 million in the year-ago quarter.

King said that Ensign’s reported earnings per share were “a nice beat” versus Stifel’s estimate of 24 cents and just above the consensus of 29 cents per share.

Revenues were four per cent higher than King’s forecast for $508.7 million and in line with consensus of $530.0 million.

King noted that the company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of $124.8 million was eight per cent above her forecast of $115.1 million, but six per cent lower than consensus of $132.5 million.

“As such, EBITDA margins in the quarter of 23.5 per cent were above our estimate of 22.6 per cent, but under implied consensus of 25.0 per cent.”

The company said that its results for the fourth quarter and full-year 2012 reflect “a mixed year overall” for its operations.  

“North American oilfield services, particularly in Canada, experienced a strong start in 2012; however, a slowdown towards the latter half of the year, as customers reacted to unfavorable price differentials for Canadian commodities, a continuing over-supply of natural gas and uncertainty in global economic conditions, weakened activity levels and financial contributions in the last half of the year,” it said in a release Monday. 

Revenue generated in Canada decreased 22 per cent to $176.7 million, from $225.2 million a year earlier and accounted for 33 per cent of total revenue in the quarter.

Operating days fell 31 per cent, while well servicing hours decreased by nine per cent.

Ensign said it decommissioned or disposed of three inactive drilling rigs and four inactive well servicing rigs during 2012 and transferred nine drilling rigs to the oil sands coring fleet and one drilling rig to the Australian market.  

The company also disposed of its manufacturing facility located in Calgary, Alberta, after the quarter’s end.

Its U.S. operations recorded revenues of $213.7 million, down 10 per cent from the $236.8 million recorded in the same period of 2011, accounting for 40 per cent of its revenue. The number of operating days fell 17 per cent, but well servicing hours rose 10 per cent due to expansions in its U.S. well servicing rig fleet.

Ensign added five new drill rigs and 12 new well servicing rigs in the U.S. in 2012.  

International operations recorded revenue of $139.7 million, up 20 per cent year-over-year, and accounted for 27 per cent of fourth quarter revenue. Operating days in the segment increased 12 per cent, due stronger demand for oilfield services in Latin America and increased operating activity and revenue rates.  

Ensign said it resumed its operations in Libya late in 2012 with the start-up of one drilling rig. A second drilling rig is expected to start-up in the first half of this year. 

Stifel noted that Ensign's drilling rig activity in the fourth quarter - as measured by operating days - in all its operating segments were roughly in line with its expectations. 

“On its service rig side, the company's Canadian fleet operating hours came in just under our forecast, while its U.S. fleet performed 15 per cent fewer hours compared with third quarter levels, a higher sequential decrease than we were anticipating,” King said.

“That said, segment revenue met in the U.S., or beat - in Canada and international – our forecasts.” 

King added that delivery dates for Ensign’s two Canadian new builds rigs, one in the first quarter of 2013 and one in the second quarter, as well as the four planned builds for the U.S., “appear to be on schedule”. 

Stifel said it planned to review its estimates after Ensign’s fourth quarter conference call today.

Fraser Mackenzie analysts have reiterated their buy rating and $1.25 per share target price for Zedi (CVE:ZED), after the energy services company last week reported fourth quarter results that beat consensus expectations. 

"We continue to believe that Zedi offers very compelling value, albeit we caution investors in regard to the relatively low liquidity. With $100M+ in annualized revenue versus $60M in current market cap we believe that shares are significantly undervalued," the analysts take note. 

"Management has demonstrated continued growth on both a top line and bottom line basis while increasing the business platform, despite softness in its core end market."

The company operates in two segments, providing management services to the energy industry. The productions operations management unit delivers systems and services that help oil and gas producers to manage people, assets and information. 

The field operations management segment provides third party well operations management in north- east British Columbia, north-west Alberta and the southern United States, with the primary services including contract well operations, inspection and supervision. 

Fourth quarter earnings per share for Zedi were 3 cents, with revenue of $28.6 million, versus consensus estimates of 1 cent per share and revenue of $27 million. Fraser analysts expected $26 million in revenue, with a profit of one penny. 

The analysts highlight that despite some softness in the company's end market, and the industry slowdown related to lower natural gas prices, Zedi "fared extremely well", increasing revenue 14% year-over-year, while profitability rose 56%. 

Notably, the fourth quarter results marked a significant improvement from the third quarter, which came in below expectations due to such factors as weather, and a seasonal slowdown. 

"The company’s diversification strategy has led to an increase in its product offering and in geographic expansion. Notably the company’s expansion into the U.S. via the acquisition of Southern Flow (January, 2011) has been very successful, in our view, with average growth coming in ~25%+."

By capitalizing on the surrounding environment and making tuck in acquisitions such as SilverJack, which was acquired in June 2011, it has positioned the company to take advantage of the U.S. market and oil related technologies. 

Indeed, within the fourth quarter roughly 40% of business was generated from oil services. 

Results during the latest period were largely driven by continued growth of its Southern Flow unit, and its production operations management business, which is inclusive of SilverJack sales. 

The analysts note that the conference call on Monday, which followed the release of the quarterly results, alluded to further growth internationally with future orders stemming from Asia, Russia and/or Latin America. 

"Growth above and beyond expectations may come via further penetration on the international front, with Russia being the largest opportunity. 

"Zedi has had an operational presence in Russia for some time and although the country has presented challenges in gaining fraction for Zedi’s technology, we believe the “Russia opportunity” represents massive potential," the Fraser analysts conclude. 

Looking ahead, they expect that target revenue of $115 million and earnings per share of 8 cents for the first quarter remain "quite achievable". 

The company also announced that its annual $1.00 per share dividend will be paid quarterly beginning in March.

Calfrac’s stock fell 6.22 per cent as at about 11:15 a.m. EDT, trading at $24.58. 

For the quarter that ended December 31, the specialized oilfield services provider posted net earnings of $11.2 million or 25 cents per diluted share, compared to net income of $78.9 million or $1.79 per diluted share a year earlier.

Calfrac noted that the latest quarter included a $3.8 million foreign exchange gain, compared to an unrealized foreign exchange loss of $1.0 million in the year-ago period. 

Earnings before exchange gains or losses stood at $8.07 million or 18 cents per diluted share, compared to $78.38 million or $1.78 per diluted share a year earlier.

Sales came in at $367.5 million, a decrease of 25 per cent from the $490 million recorded a year earlier.

Calfrac said the decline was primarily a result of lower pricing in the U.S., combined with reduced activity in Canada and the U.S., which was due to lower overall drilling and completion activity on account of weakness in natural gas prices. 

The company noted that the decline in Canada and the U.S. was partially offset by “strong growth” in its Latin American operations.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected per share earnings of 31 cents on $398.06 million in sales.

Revenue from Calfrac's Canadian operations stood at $201.5 million, versus $237.2 million in the comparable period of 2011, on account of an overall decline in natural gas drilling and completions activity in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. 

The average number of active drilling rigs in western Canada fell 28 per cent in the fourth quarter.

Calfrac's U.S. operations saw revenues fall 46 per cent to $110.0 million from $202.5 million a year earlier, mostly a result of a “significant reduction” in equipment utilization and increased pricing pressure. 

In Russia, revenue fell by 21 per cent to $24.2 million from $30.7 million a year ago, due to smaller job sizes and severe winter conditions.

Calfrac’s Latin America operations, meanwhile, saw revenues rise 63 per cent to $31.7 million from $19.5 million in the year-ago quarter due to higher fracturing activity and pricing, larger job sizes and the start-up of multi-stage fracturing jobs in Mexico, it said.

Gross margin narrowed sharply to 12.4 per cent from 30.7 per cent a year ago. 

Looking ahead, Calfrac said with a mild winter in North America tempering natural gas price recovery and therefore gas-related drilling, combined with a relatively stable oil-focused rig count in North America, it is taking a conservative approach to the first half of 2013. 

Its 2013 capital budget has been reduced by $43.0 million to $74.0 million, of which $20.0 million is expected to be carried over into 2014. 

Enerplus Corp. (TSE:ERF) Friday posted a rise in fourth-quarter funds flow due to higher production volumes, stronger natural gas prices and lower expenses and said it expects to increase funds flow by eight per cent in 2013.

Shares of the company moved 2.2% higher on the news, trading at $12.72 as at about 10:50 a.m. EDT.

Enerplus said it expects to spend roughly $685 million on exploration and development projects in 2013, with 85 per cent designated to crude oil and liquids rich natural gas projects, and 75 per cent targeted to crude oil specifically. 

Production is expected to average between 82,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day and 85,000 boe per day in 2013, with a 50 per cent weighting to crude oil and liquids – up about two per cent over 2012. Exit production is expected to average between 84,000 and 88,000 boe per day. 

Enerplus warned that the timing of capital spending and expected downtime for winter weather conditions are expected to result in “slightly lower” production volumes during the first quarter.

For the period that ended December 31, Enerplus posted a narrower net loss of C$158 million or 80 cents per share, compared with a loss of $299 million or $1.66 per share a year earlier.

The company noted that it recorded accounting impairments on its developed and producing oil and gas assets due to a decline in commodity prices, and higher future development costs.

It also recorded impairments on its exploration and evaluation assets during the year due to expiring undeveloped land and unrecoverable costs on discontinued projects. 

“Our efforts throughout 2012 have been focused on delivering organic growth through an oil-focused capital spending program and providing a dividend to our shareholders,” the company said in a release Friday.

Daily production during the fourth quarter increased to an average of 85,490 boe per day, up 11 per cent year-over-year.

Crude oil production in the fourth quarter was up 22 per cent from the year-ago period.

Higher production volumes, stronger natural gas prices and lower expenses helped funds flow increase by almost 50 per cent sequentially to approximately $200 million or $1.01 per share, the company said.

As a result of this increase, its adjusted payout ratio - capital spending plus dividends net of participation in the stock dividend program - improved to 104 per cent.

In December, Enerplus sold non-core oil assets in Manitoba for about $218 million.  In addition, it consolidated its ownership in Montana through the purchase of an additional 20-per-cent working interest in the Sleeping Giant Bakken oil project for $118 million. 

Shares of Enbridge (TSE:ENB) (NYSE:ENB) edged higher Friday, as it posted fourth-quarter revenues that came in well ahead of analyst views and announced that it and Energy Transfer Partners (NYSE:ETP) will jointly develop a project to open up crude oil pipeline access to the eastern Gulf Coast market.

The company's stock rose 0.32 per cent as at about 10:30 a.m. EDT, trading at $44.28.

The companies said the project, a converted 30-inch diameter crude oil pipeline, is expected to be in service by 2015. It will have capacity of up to 420,000 to 660,000 barrels per day (bpd) and would create the first pipeline transportation option for crude oil to the eastern Gulf Coast from the midwest U.S.

Once completed, it will span more than 700 miles. Depending on the level of commitments and capital cost estimates, Enbridge said it expects to invest roughly US$1.2 to $1.7 billion in the project.

"Connecting the Patoka hub to the St. James hub is an important component of our broader plans to open up access to the eastern Gulf Coast crude oil market and responds to significant interest from both producers and refineries," said Enbridge president and CEO Al Monaco. 

"Together with our western Gulf Coast Access program, which includes the expanded Seaway Pipeline, this new project would provide western Canadian and Bakken producers with access to the largest refining center in the world with approximately nine million bpd of crude oil processing capacity.” 

The Gulf Coast market is ideally suited for both heavy and light crude oil and the companies said the project will be “another significant step” toward optimizing the Energy Transfer asset base, while helping solve the “critical logistics bottlenecks” in North America by connecting enormous reserves of oil to markets in the U.S. 

For the three months that ended December 31, Enbridge reported earnings of $146 million or 18 cents per share, compared with $159 million or 21 cents per share a year earlier.

Excluding a $105 million after-tax asset impairment charge and other one-time charges, adjusted earnings were $327 million or 42 cents per share. 

Revenue fell two per cent percent to $7.17 billion, from $7.3 billion a year earlier.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected per share earnings of 44 cents on revenue of $5.69 billion.

"Enbridge finished 2012 with a solid fourth quarter and full year results that again achieved our guidance for the year," said Monaco.

Revenue in the company’s liquids and pipeline unit dropped 11 per cent, while sales in its gas distribution unit rose by 1.1 per cent and revenue in its gas pipelines, processing and energy services unit rose nine per cent year-over-year.

During the quarter, Enbridge announced the expansion of its Canadian Mainline system between Edmonton and Hardisty, Alberta at an approximate cost of $1.8 billion and secured a 50-per-cent interest in development of the 150-MW Massif du Sud Wind project in Quebec, with an expected investment of $0.2 billion.

The company also announced an increase to its quarterly dividend of 12 per cent to 31.5 cents per share, effective March 1.

Looking ahead to 2013, Enbridge said it expects full-year, adjusted per share earnings in the range of $1.74 to $1.90.

Precision Drilling (TSE:PD) Thursday said that it swung to a loss in the fourth quarter as it took a hefty charge on the decommissioning of some of its Canadian drilling fleet, but shares rose as revenue topped Street views.

In the fourth quarter, Precision decommissioned 42 "Tier 3" drilling rigs and 10 "Tier 2" rigs from its fleet.

The Calgary-based oilfield services giant reported a net loss of $116 million or 42 cents per diluted share for the three months that ended December 31, compared to net earnings of $28 million or 10 cents per diluted share a year earlier.

Precision said it recognized an after-tax asset decommissioning charge and goodwill impairment charge that combined, reduced net earnings by $179 million and net earnings per share by 63 cents.

Sales fell 9.1 per cent to $534 million from the $587 million last year, primarily due to lower equipment utilization in both Canada and the U.S., which was partially offset by a period-over-period increase in dayrates, the company said.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected per share earnings of one cent on revenue of $498.4 million.

“While 2012 finished with softening demand for our services in our Canadian and U.S. markets, I am pleased that we continue to see excellent opportunities to deploy our high performance, high value rigs internationally, expanding our breadth in the Arabian Gulf and with integrated service providers in Mexico,” said president and CEO Kevin Neveu.

“Like most, we remain cautious on our outlook for near term energy services growth in North America, but remain firm believers in the long term opportunities for drilling and development of unconventional hydrocarbon resources.”

Sales in the contract drilling rig segment fell 8.6 per cent to $452 million, while the completion and services unit saw sales decrease 10.5 per cent to $85.2 million.

Activity in North America was impacted by decreased customer demand for oil and liquids-rich natural gas related drilling activity as a result of lower global oil prices. In the fourth quarter, drilling rig revenue per utilization day in both Canada and the United States was up 10% over the prior year. 

Average revenue per utilization day for contract drilling rigs in the U.S. increased in the fourth quarter to US$25,465 from $23,195 a year earlier and increased in Canada to $21,997 from $19,971. 

Precision’s average active rig count of 87 rigs in the U.S. was down 20 rigs over the same period a year earlier. It expects its active rig count in the U.S. to remain flat over the coming months.

Internationally in 2013, the company said its rig count is expected to grow from eight to 11 rigs as the two recently contracted rigs begin drilling in Kurdistan and the Mexican rig count is expected to increase from five to six.

In Canada, Precision averaged 90 rigs operating during the fourth quarter, down 27 rigs year-over-year. The company said it expects “strong levels of market activity” to continue during the first quarter of 2013 until spring break-up.

The company said its 2013 capital expenditures are expected to be about $526 million, split $434 million for the drilling segment and $92 million for the completion and production services unit.

Precision Drilling provides onshore drilling, well servicing and ancillary oilfield services to the oil and gas industry.

Its shares moved up 2.33 per cent as at about 2 p.m. EDT, trading at $9.22.

Encana Corp (TSE:ECA) (NYSE:ECA) Thursday said it narrowed its net loss in the fourth quarter as several joint venture partners helped lower production costs, but shares slid as natural gas production fell 15 per cent.

Shares of the company fell 4.83 per cent as at about 10:40 a.m. EDT, trading at $18.54.

For the period that ended December 31, the company reported a net loss of $80 million or 11 cents per share, an improvement from a loss of $476 million or 65 cents, a year earlier. 

Excluding one-time items, earnings were $296 million, or 40 cents per share, as hedging helped realize higher prices for gas.

Cash flow was $809 million or $1.10 per share, down from $983 million or $1.33 per share a year ago.

Net revenue fell to $1.6 billion, from $2.4 billion in the year-ago period.

Analyst polled by Thomson Reuters had called for per share earnings of 33 cents on revenue of $1.62 billion.

"Operational momentum built through 2012 combined with our major transaction agreements puts Encana in a strong position starting 2013,” said interim president and CEO Clayton Woitas.

"We have an extensive portfolio of emerging oil plays that are under evaluation and a range of established plays that can be profitable at current commodity prices, and those are the areas where we plan to spend our time and money in 2013."

In the fourth quarter, Encana averaged 36,200 barrels per day (bbls/d) of liquids production, up from 23,900 bbl/d, and 2.9 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas production, down 15 per cent from 3.45 Bcf/d a year earlier.

Realized prices for liquids fell, while realized natural gas prices increased, Encana said. Its realized liquids price fell to $66.65 per barrel, from $85.44 a year earlier, while its natural gas realized price rose to $5.02 per Mcf, versus $4.79 in the third quarter last year. 

The company noted that it ended the year with $3.2 billion in cash and equivalents, far exceeding the $2.5 billion it had targeted in 2012, due in part to success with signing major agreements with subsidiaries of PetroChina Company Ltd., Mitsubishi Corp. and Toyota Tsusho Corp.

Total proved reserves as at the quarter’s end, of roughly 13.1 trillion cubic feet equivalent, fell about eight per cent year-over-year.

Looking ahead, Encana expects its oil and natural gas liquids (NGLs) production in 2013 to be between 50,000 to 60,000 bbls/d, and annualized natural gas production is expected to remain near current levels ranging between 2.8 to 3.0 Bcf/d. 

Capital investment is estimated to be about $3.0 to $3.2 billion, while cash flow is projected around $2.3 to $2.5 billion and the company is targeting net divestitures to be in the $500 million to $1.0 billion range.

It said about 80 per cent of its 2013 operating capital will be spent on light oil and liquids rich natural gas plays.

The balance will be allotted for dry natural gas assets, with plans to invest in plays with a low supply cost or those supported by third party capital.

In addition, Encana said its joint venture partners have agreed to spend about $750 million in the form of carry capital. Carry capital is cash that the company's joint venture partners have agreed to pay in excess of their ownership interests as part of their commitments under the agreements.

Over the next five years, the company said its total carry capital is approximately $3.8 billion.

Shares of Halliburton rose 4.84 per cent as at about 10 a.m. EDT, trading at $39.64.

For the quarter that ended December 31, 2012, the company reported net income of $669 million or 72 cents per share, compared to $906 million or 98 cents per share, a year ago.

Stripping away one-time items, per share earnings stood at 67 cents per share.

Revenue increased 3.2 per cent to $7.29 billion, from $7.06 billion a year earlier. The company said the increase was due largely to strong growth in its international regions, particularly in Middle East/Asia and Latin America, which more than offset seasonally lower activity levels in North America. 

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected per share earnings of 61 cents on revenue of $7.06 billion.

“In the fourth quarter, revenue of $7.3 billion represents the highest quarterly revenue in company history,” said president and CEO Dave Lesar.

“All three of our international regions and eight of our 12 product lines set new revenue records. 

“These results were driven by our international regions, where we also saw fourth quarter revenue and operating income growth of 20 per cent and 39 per cent, respectively, compared to the fourth quarter of 2011.”

Halliburton said North America margins are temporarily being negatively impacted by the upfront roll out costs of its Frac of the Future initiative, by remaining active in the North America natural gas basins at lower margins, and by its decision to stack equipment during the fourth quarter.

“In 2013, we anticipate the North America rig count will improve from fourth quarter levels but will be down slightly compared to 2012,” Lesar noted.

In its completion and production unit, revenue in the fourth quarter was $4.33 billion, up slightly from $4.32 billion a year earlier. Higher completion activity in the Gulf of Mexico and increased direct sales internationally more than offset seasonally lower activity levels in the U.S. land market, the company said.

In its drilling and evaluation unit, revenue was $2.95 billion, up from $2.73 billion a year earlier, as higher drilling activity in Latin America and year-end software sales more than offset seasonally lower activity levels in the U.S. 

During the fourth quarter, Halliburton said it invested an additional $36 million in strategic projects to improve its North America service delivery model, technology, supply chain, and manufacturing infrastructure to support projected international growth. The company said it expects to continue funding this effort in 2013.

Baker Hughes (NYSE:BHI) reported Wednesday that fourth quarter profit declined as revenue fell 1%, with North American activity falling sharply at the end of the year. 

For the three months that ended December 31, the oilfield services provider reported a profit of $214 million, or 49 cents a share, down from $314 million, or 72 cents, a year earlier.

Income from continuing operations was 48 cents per share, compared to 76 cents per share, a year ago. 

The latest period included an after-tax charge of $63 million, or 14 cents per share, for bad debt provisions in Latin America. Adjusted earnings from continuing operations were $1.20 a year ago.

Revenue for the fourth quarter was $5.22 billion, down 1% compared to $5.30 billion in the year-earlier period.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had most recently forecast per-share earnings of 61 cents on revenue of $5.21 billion.

"Our fourth quarter results reflect the challenges faced by the industry as North American activity declined sharply towards the end of the year, and we continue to deal with unfavorable pricing conditions in the pressure pumping market," said president and CEO, Martin Craighead.

"As a result, we experienced a decline in North America revenues and margins this quarter.  The revenue declines were almost entirely offset by gains in our international business, driven by record revenues in all of our international segments during the quarter."

Indeed, in North America, revenue fell to $2.56 billion from $2.83 billion a year earlier. The segment's adjusted operating margins shrank to 9% from 15% a year ago.

But sales in Latin America rose to $639 million from $602 million and sales in the Europe/Africa/Russia Caspian region advanced to $950 million from $910 million a year ago. 

In the Middle East/Asia Pacific region, sales were $882 million, up from $764 million in the same quarter a year ago. 

Operating margin fell to 8.3% from 10.3%.

The company said that during the fourth quarter, its balance sheet improved, with receivables and inventories reduced by almost $400 million combined. "Maintaining a strong balance sheet and capital discipline will remain a theme, and we intend to reduce our capital expenditures by approximately 30% in 2013," said Craighead.

Cash was $1.02 billion as of year-end. 

Shares in Baker Hughes rose 0.7% to $45.18 on Wednesday morning, as the company posted record full year revenue on the strength of its international operations.

Oilfield-services giant Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) shares rose Friday morning, despite earnings falling from the prior year period, as profit matched Street estimates and revenue beat consensus views. 

Net earnings for the fourth quarter fell to $1.36 billion, or $1.02 per share, from $1.41 billion, or $1.05 per share, in the year ago period. 

In the latest period, Schlumberger said it record charges of 6 cents per share. 

Earnings from continuing operations, adjusted for charges and credits, came to $1.08 a share for the latest quarter, matching the FactSet-compiled consensus.

Revenue rose to $11.17 billion from $10.3 billion a year earlier, ahead of analyst calls for sales of $10.81 billion. 

The company said performance was driven by international areas, where "service quality was strong, and service capacity tight for certain product lines". Its results were, however, impacted by seasonal slowdowns and contract delays as well as by mobilization and new project start-up costs. 

In North America, strong performance in the US Gulf of Mexico overcame lower-than-expected activity in Canada, and lower pricing in the US land markets.

"We capped the year with revenues of over $42 billion, up by 14%, with the international areas growing by $4 billion, or 16%, their strongest growth by far since 2008," said CEO Paal Kibsgaard. 

"International grew from robust exploration and development activity, both offshore and in key land markets. In North America, we demonstrated our resiliency from the challenges of the land markets by growing the business by more than $1 billion, or 9%, aided by our strong position in the offshore market, particularly in the US Gulf of Mexico."

In the international market, significant revenue growth was seen in the Latin America and Middle East & Asia areas. Revenue declined by 1% in the Europe/CIS/Africa area, which also saw decreased margins from the seasonal slowdowns in the North Sea and Russia, combined with contract delays in North Africa. 

Geographically, International revenue of $7.6 billion increased 6% sequentially, while North America revenue of $3.4 billion grew by 4% from the prior quarter.

Shares in the oilfield services provider rose by 2.3% to $75.09 this morning. 

Encana (TSE:ECA) (NYSE:ECA) shares were lower Monday, after it announced late Friday that current chief Randall K. Eresman is retiring after 35 years with the company, and will be replaced by director Clayton Woitas on an interim basis. 

Eresman has agreed to stay on as an advisor until February 28, to assist with the transition.

The North American energy producer has been busy managing as of late, from depressed natural gas prices to future asset sales. In late December, Encana agreed to sell its 30% stake in the proposed Kitimat liquefied natural gas export terminal project to Chevron Canada. 

"After a highly successful 2012, Encana is once again financially and operationally very strong, and well positioned to execute on its plans to rapidly transition to a more balanced commodity portfolio," said Eresman on Friday.

"Now is the right time for me to step down and to turn over leadership of Encana to someone with the focus, drive and commitment to complete the transition."

Woitas brings over 30 years of experience in the Western Canadian oil and natural gas business, having provided senior leadership during his tenure at Range Royalty Management Ltd., Profico Energy Management Ltd. and Renaissance Energy Ltd.

He will serve in the role of president and CEO while Encana's board conducts a search for a new candidate.

"Clayton is one of Encana's leading directors and has broad experience in the oil and natural gas industry including as a Chief Executive Officer of a number of successful companies," said chairman of the board, David P. O'Brien. 

"Clayton will bring strong leadership with a focus on operational excellence and project delivery to ensure a smooth transition to new leadership."

Back in December, Encana said the proceeds from the Kitimat sale will be used to help strengthen its balance sheet and provide further financial flexibility to fund capital programs and develop key resource plays. 

Analysts at Canaccord Genuity are cautioning that investors should not look at Encana as a potential acquisition play, unless "it is a 'Made in Canada' event."

Shares in the company fell almost 2% in Toronto Monday afternoon, to $19.12.