Total U.S. rig count slows decline; but Canada drops by 31 rigs
The oil and gas rig count continued to fall this week, but at a slower pace than was seen throughout the rest of February. The U.S. rig count fell to 502 for the week ended February 26, 2016, according to the latest data from Baker Hughes (ticker: BHI, BakerHughes.com). The decline represents 12 lost rigs in absolute terms, but a decline of 2% from last week. Every week previous to this one in the month of February saw declines of 5% or more from the previous week’s total.
The main source of the falling number of rigs in the U.S. continues to come from the oil patch, with the total number of rigs targeting liquids touching 400 this week, down 13 from a week ago. The main source of the losses came from the Eagle Ford this week, which reported seven fewer rigs. Gas rigs increased by one this week, reaching 102. The Cana Woodford shale reported three additional rigs this week, though that was offset by losses in other plays.
The Canadian rig count continued its decline started earlier this month as well. The count for the last Baker Hughes report in February was 175 active rigs in Canada, down 31 from last week’s total.
