It’s beginning to sound like an auction. Sell-side downgrades are coming to the land drilling sector with the rapidity of an auctioneer’s chant. Each week produces another dim view for the sector. Original bidding for the U.S. land sector started 2012 calling for an increase of 7 to 10% in 2012 rig count based on projections for operating spending.

The next round called for that increase to drop to the low single digits thanks to the collapse in natural gas prices A operators added oil rigs to offset the price-induced ...