Oslo Offshore Shares Stumble in September

Offshore shares have been the winners in recent months on the back of a rapidly rising oil price. In September however, this sector dipped 5.9 percent to show the poorest price performance on the Main List. PGS's (PGS) price fall of 7.3 percent was the main contributor. Fred. Olsen Energy (FOE) and Smedvig (SME & SMEB) dropped 12.6 and 10.3 percent respectively. This was despite a continuing rise in the oil price resulting from OPEC discipline and declining oil stocks. Not since January 1997 has North Sea oil commanded such high prices as today. The SMB-listed Ocean Rig (OCR) almost halved its value during September, much due to a new issue that are being executed at a much lower price than expected. A group of other SMB-companies performed well in the period; District Offshore (DOF), up 17.2 percent, and Navis (NIS), up 17.1 percent, were the leading two among those. Alongside offshore, the listed cruise shares contributed most to the price fall in the shipping index. NCL Holding (NCL) and Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) fell 8.1 and 6 percent respectively. The tanker companies Bergesen (BEA & BEB) and Frontline (FRO) pulled in the opposite direction, as Bergesen gained 6.5 percent and Frontline added all of 21 percent to its value. The development in the Frontline-ICB situation may have influenced the pricing of Frontline during September. Also Loki (LOI), Waterfront Shipping (WAT) and Nomadic Shipping (NOS) experienced considerable gains for the period.