* Sees FY 2010 capex up to $265 mln from $225 mln - SEC filing

* Says spot dayrates appear to have stabilized

* Says larger FlexRigs are now approaching full utilization

* 11 rigs in Venezuela continue to be idle

Helmerich & Payne Inc (HP.N), the second-largest land-drilling rig contractor by market value, raised its 2010 capital expenditure forecast by $40 million and said its active rig count continues to rise.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said its expected budget of $265 million for 2010 may result in the new deployment of FlexRigs at the rate of one per month through the year, among other manufacturing efforts.

The company also said spot dayrates -- the price drillers charge to rent out their rigs per day -- appear to have stabilized and that its larger FlexRigs are now approaching full utilization.

Five FlexRig3 rigs (used for international bidding) have been transferred back to the U.S. land segment, and three of the five are already contracted, the company said.

However, the filing showed all of the company's 11 rigs in Venezuela remain idle as of Dec. 8, after their seizure by the PDVSA, the Venezuelan state oil company.

Shares of Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Helmerich & Payne were down about 36 cents at $36.80 in morning trade Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Krishna N. Das in Bangalore; Editing by Jarshad Kakkrakandy)