We have tracked the key short interest changes as of February 28 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 rise by 8% to 12.9 million shares, which is 2.9% of the company’s total float.

BP PLC (NYSE: BP) short interest rose by 58.4% to 12.68 million shares, or 0.4% of the company’s float.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) saw a 1.7% rise in short interest to 87.07 million shares, which represents about 13.3% of the firm’s float.

Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) short interest fell by 6.1% to 16.66 million shares, which is 0.9% of the company’s float.

ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) saw a 5.9% rise in short interest to 24.1 million shares, or 2.1% of the firm’s float.

Short interest in Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE: EPD) increased by 66.8% to 1.81 million shares, 0.3% of the company’s total float.

Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) saw short interest fall 1.6% to 35.38 million shares. That is 0.8% of the float.

Kinder Morgan Inc. (NYSE: KMI) short interest rose 1.1% to 11.11 million shares, which represents 2.5% of the company’s float.

National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NYSE: NOV) saw short interest rise by 13.9% to 4.86 million shares, or about 1.1% of the company’s total float.

Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) saw a 41.2% decline in short interest to 5.07 million shares, which is 0.8% of the firm’s float.

Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB) short interest rose by 4.5% to 12.8 million shares, which represents 1% of the float.

Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) saw a 6.4% decrease in short interest to 3.47 million shares, or about 1% of the firm’s float.

Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE: VLO) saw a 10.3% drop in short interest to 13.53 million shares, which represents 2.5% of the firm’s float.

Short interest in BP continues to climb, up 58% in this two-week period after climbing 11% in the first two weeks of February. The beginning of the latest trial related to the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010 seems to indicate no settlement is on its way, adding to uncertainty about what BP ultimately will have to pay. Short interest in refiners has dropped significantly following more good news on earnings and an outlook for continued strong refining margins.

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