It's a reality of the era of elevated energy prices that the oil/natural gas services sector is likely to remain strong for the foreseeable future, baring the discovery of a cheap, widely-available alternative energy. And among oil/natural gas services companies, Transocean (NYSE: RIG) is a standout.

Transocean offers deepwater drilling services in the world's major offshore oil-producing regions, including Africa, Asia, Brazil, Canada, India, Middle East, Gulf of Mexico, and the North Sea.

In general, analysts see RIG generating a 18%-25% total return on equity for 2007-2009, with an upside possible, given the company's strong position in deepwater drilling, which offers a higher return potential than shallow water drilling. And currently, it looks like a 2008 upside is in sight for Transocean: of the company's 82 offshore rigs, only seven have not been committed for 2008. Further, given a capacity shortage sector-wide, dayrates have increase substantially, and look for RIG's pricing power to continue past 2009. (RIG's dayrate for 2006 increased 35% to $142,000 and its rig utilization rate improved 5% in 2006.) The Reuters F2007/F2008 EPS consensus estimates for RIG are $8.01/$11.32.

The risks? RIG's dayrate increases could slow if major oil companies begin to reduce exploration budgets. A U.S. recession could also substantially decease home building, which could lower the demand for oil.

The First Call mean rating for RIG is: Buy. [34 firms.] Mean 2007 target: $131.00. [high: $168, low: $89.] Transocean's share were down $2.04 to $127.60 in Wednesday afternoon trading, but view that dip as a buying opportunity, as it's reasonable to assume that the industrialized nations will need oil services companies for a few years, to say the least.

Stock Analysis: Transocean is a moderate-risk stock not suitable for low-risk investors. Investors with an investment horizon longer than 1 year should be rewarded from RIG's shares. Sell / Stop Loss: $84.