9 Oil Stocks With Hot Prospects

BOSTON (TheStreet) -- The continued growth of oil-shale drilling in North America and a big rebound in offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico has boosted the long-term investment prospects for the oil and gas industry's suppliers.

Standard & Poor's outlook for the oil and gas equipment and services industry for the next 12 months is "positive" as it notes that there are now 31 offshore deep-water drilling rigs operating in the Gulf of Mexico now, a 94% rebound in the two years since the BP(BP) offshore oil rig explosion and leak of April 2010 prompted a moratorium on new drilling. S&P expects the number of rigs operating there will exceed pre-disaster levels by year-end, which means significantly more demand for contractor services.

And that, coupled with the continued growth of oil-shale exploration throughout North America and internationally, adds to the industry's long-term prospects. "We generally expect onshore U.S. oil services to see robust demand into 2013, at least in liquids-rich basins," said the S&P report.