Aftershocks from Gulf of Mexico oil spill are clouding outlook for new drilling rig floaters, raising risk of rig orders being pushed back, says Morgan Stanley, according to Dow Jones.

Morgan Stanley has cut 2010-2012 order estimates for SembMarine (S51.SG), Keppel Corp. (BN4.SG) by 5–10%, but notes reduced orders likely already reflected in shares.

“We continue to see a solid pipeline of production unit orders in the market. These are vessels that must produce the oil fields discovered in the last several years. While the aftershocks of the Gulf of Mexico spill will likely cause some delay in the awards of these jobs, we think they will eventually happen,” says Morgan Stanley.

Research house says both companies still on track to secure jobs from Brazilian oil giant Petrobras later this year. Keeps Keppel at Overweight but trims target to $10.20 from $10.80, keeps SembMarine at Equalweight, cuts target to $3.80 from $4.00.
 

Keppel off 0.6% at $8.85, SembMarine +0.3% at $3.97.