Shares of offshore drillers Valaris (NYSE: VAL), Diamond Offshore Drilling (NYSE: DO), Seadrill (NYSE: SDRL), and Transocean (NYSE: RIG) were down between 5% and 6% at 12:47 p.m. EDT on Sept. 17. This big sell-off came after yesterday's massive run-up, which saw this same group gain between 6% and 21%.
Image source: Getty Images.
Yesterday's surge and today's sell-off are two sides of the same coin, as investors try to process and predict the implications of this weekend's attacks on Saudi Arabia's Abqaiq oil-processing facility. The drone strikes, which are purported to have come from Yemeni Houthi rebels -- possibly backed by Iran and potentially being launched from Iranian soil -- have temporarily halted about half of Saudi Arabia's entire oil production, and impacted a massive 5% of global oil supplies.