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Natural gas and oil drilling is at the forefront of the news, due to the British Petroleum Gulf of Mexico oil spill. BP is just one of many companies that engages in offshore drilling. Other corporations drill for natural gas on land. The activity of these companies increases as natural gas prices rise. Higher prices result in the drilling of new wells and upgrading of existing wells.

Most of the drilling companies are cyclical, with stock prices that track the price of natural gas. Therefore, it is advisable to purchase natural gas drilling stocks at the start of a new pricing cycle when their share prices are low. Waiting until this time can result in the most profit being made when the investor decides to sell.

Diamond Offshore Drilling is a company that engages in contract drilling of offshore deep water oil and gas wells. Its stock price is currently at $61.43 per share and has an 11.43 percent annualized return. Helmerich & Payne engages in contract marine and land drilling of oil and gas wells. Its current share price is $38.07 and it has a 16.11 percent annualized return.

Some of the highest rated oil and gas drilling and exploration stocks are Transatlantic Petroleum, Oilexco, BMB Munai Inc., Seadrill, Ltd., and Bolt Technology Corp. Transatlantic’s stock trades for a reasonable $3.18 per share. Oilexco and BMB Munai each have share prices under $1.00, making them a very reasonable purchase. Shares in Seadrill are trading at $18.37 and Bolt shares are at $8.62.

These are just a few of the 88 publicly traded companies in the U.S. that drill or explore for oil and natural gas. Investors should research the company history and stock performance for each of these organizations prior to making an investment. Becoming a shareholder in a natural gas drilling company can yield nice profits as the price of natural gas increases.