Should be good first half-year for primary oil producers

(April 11 – 16:40 ET) – First Call/Thomson Financial expects primary oil producers to do well in the first half of 2000, on the back of booming oil prices. But the analysts suggest the rest of the industry will have to wait a couple of quarters to see the good news flow through to them.

There is a, “strong upward revision trend, particularly with regard to the major integrated oils,” says research director Charles Hill in a report released today. This suggests that these firms could report upside surprises over the next few weeks. However First Call says analysts are expecting the first quarter to be a weak one for other secondary company and oil service stocks.