We have tracked the key short interest changes as of December 15 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).

Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) saw short interest fall by 5.9% to 11 million shares, 2.5% of the company’s total float.

BP PLC (NYSE: BP) short interest rise by 2.5% to 10.88 million shares, 0.3% of the company’s float.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) saw a 6.4% rise in short interest to 93.57 million shares, which represents about 14.3% of the firm’s float.

Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) short interest rose 13.8% to 15.41 million shares, which represents 0.8% of the company’s float.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) saw an 11.9% drop in short interest to 220.56 million shares, which represents 1.8% of the firm’s float.

Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE: EPD) saw short interest fall 20% to 2.65 million shares, or 0.5% of the company’s total float.

Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) saw short interest rise 12.5% to 30.94 million shares, 0.7% of the company’s total float.

Kinder Morgan Inc. (NYSE: KMI) short interest rose 22% to 9.24 million shares, which represents 2.3% of the company’s float.

National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NYSE: NOV) saw short interest rise 2.6% to 4 million shares, about 0.9% of the company’s total float.

Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) saw an 11.2% drop in short interest to 10.81 million shares, which represents 1.7% of the firm’s float.

Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB) short interest rise by 1.1% to 11.9 million shares, which represents 0.9% of the company’s float.

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) saw a 54.7% increase in short interest to 5.64 million shares, which represents 1.6% of the firm’s float.

Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO) saw a 12.5 drop in short interest to 19.85 million shares, which represents 3.6% of the firm’s float.

The sharpest increases in short interest came in the services sector, with Transocean experiencing a leap in short interest. That is likely due to two causes. First, Transocean has cleared up its liability related to the April 2010 Gulf of Mexico disaster, and second from the disclosure that Carl Icahn has now amassed a 5.61% stake in the company and is demanding a $4 per share dividend. Neither factor should keep shares near 52-week highs.

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