Natural Gas Inventory Levels News

Worldwide oil and gas drilling contractor GlobalSantaFe Corporation today reported that the company's worldwide SCORE, or Summary of Current Offshore Rig Economics, for December 2002 was down from the previous month's SCORE by 2.9 percent. GlobalSantaFe chief operating officer, Jon Marshall, said today at the company's annual SCORE press conference: "Though worldwide SCORE improved in December 2002, continued softness in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico drilling market and semisubmersibles rigs worldwide left SCORE near the year's lowest level. In the U.S. gulf, depressed drilling activity is having an impact on natural gas inventory levels, pushing prices higher.