RE: grand slam homerun in 2004???Do a study of the current costs of finding O&G - they have risen sharply. Part of that cost has been service sector being able to charge higher prices due to increased demand. Currently that margin is historically high. Just looking at the companies you linked, they are posting PE's in the neighborhood of 15:1 after having had long runs up - following earnings growth. I suspect there will not be a continuation of this increased earnings trend, as increasing the margins on individual jobs is not likely, and increasing the number of active rigs through growth of the companies is likely to increase competition and therefor reduce margins. It is possible that takeovers in the oil service sector will reduce competition and maintain those margins.
O&G companies that have large exploration upsides are currently not a bad place to park funds imho. Remember that we are at the top of the O&G/energy market cycle and have been peaking for a couple years now. History has shown it's not maintainable indefinitely. I'm currently having a lot of fun with EEE and it looks like SNG is starting to move. Those trusts are also performing nicely, but you have to balance the income with the potential loss of capital.