Oil and Gas Short Interest Follows Crude Pricing (BHI, BP, CHK, CVX, COP, EPD, XOM, KMI, NOV, PSX, SLB, RIG, VLO)

We have tracked the key short interest changes in the following oil and gas leaders: Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI), BP PLC (NYSE: BP), Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK), Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX), ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE: EPD), Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM), Kinder Morgan Inc. (NYSE: KMI), National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NYSE: NOV), Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX), Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB), Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) and Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO).

With the exception of Chesapeake, which is seen as primarily a natural gas company with lots of problems, the oil and gas firms are not heavily shorted. Short interest rose in the services companies, while one of the two refiners on our list — Phillips 66 — posted a substantial drop in short interest. As crude prices decline, refiners stand to gain the most and services companies feel pressure.

Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) saw short interest rise 12.3% to 16.85 million shares, 3.9% of the company’s total float.

BP PLC (NYSE: BP) short interest rose 3.9% to 8.43 million shares, which represents just 0.3% of the company’s float.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) saw a 1.6% drop in short interest to 87.28 million shares, which represents about 13.3% of the firm’s float.

Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) short interest fell 5.5% to 24 million shares, which represents just 1.2% of the company’s float.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) saw a 14.9% drop in short interest to 24.43 million shares, which represents 2.1% of the firm’s float.

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE: EPD) saw short interest rise 3.1% to 3.72 million shares, just 0.7% of the company’s total float.

Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) saw short interest fall 4.3% to 39.51 million shares, just 0.9% of the company’s total float.

Kinder Morgan Inc. (NYSE: KMI) short interest fell 0.1% to 8.6 million shares, which represents 1.7% of the company’s float.

National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NYSE: NOV) saw short interest rise 15.4% to 6.23 million shares, about 1.5% of the company’s total float.

Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) saw a 19.9% drop in short interest to 5.66 million shares, which represents 0.9% of the firm’s float.

Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB) short interest fell 14.3% to 12.94 million shares, which represents 1% of the company’s float.

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) saw an 18.5% rise in short interest to 3.39 million shares, which represents 1% of the firm’s float.

Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO) saw a 3.7% rise in short interest to 14.54 million shares, which represents 2.6% of the firm’s float.

Paul Ausick