Rig count has fallen only once in the past 11 weeks—now sitting at 1,013
Drilling activity continued to rise last week, marking the eighth increase in nine weeks, according to the latest edition of Baker Hughes’ Rig Count.
Eight rigs moved to Texas this week, with the Lone Star State seeing a significant boost in drilling activity. The eight rigs that began drilling gave the state a total of 509 active rigs.
The rigs moving into Texas and New Mexico primarily moved to the Permian, as eight rigs began drilling in the basin. An additional two rigs began drilling in the Mississippian, and one came online in the Eagle Ford. One rig shut down in the DJ-Niobrara and Granite Wash, while two came offline in the Utica and Williston. Four ceased activities in the Cana Woodford.
One rig also came online in Alabama, Louisiana, New Mexico and Indiana. This is the first drilling rig active in Indiana since February 2017. One rig shut down in Ohio, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania, while two came offline in Colorado and North Dakota.
Breakdown of new rigs this week: 889 horizontal
Five new rigs came online this week, bringing the national total to 1,013. Three land-based rigs came online in the week, while two offshore rigs became active. There are now 991 land-based, four inland waters and 18 offshore rigs drilling in the U.S.
The shift this week was very similar to the previous two weeks, with operations concentrating on oil targets. Five oil-targeting rigs came online in the past week, while gas-targeting and miscellaneous were unchanged. With 820 rigs currently targeting oil, these operations account for 80.9% of all U.S. drilling. The 192 gas rigs account for 19.0%, while one miscellaneous rig makes up the difference.
Activity shifted in favor of horizontal activity once again, with six such rigs coming online this week. One vertical rig shut down, while directional operations were unchanged. There are now 889 horizontal, 70 directional and 54 vertical rigs operating in the country, the highest level of horizontal activity since March 2015.