Eight more rigs, all drilling for gas
Drilling activity in the U.S. increased this week, according to the latest edition of Baker Hughes Weekly Rig Count.
The number of active rigs in the U.S. increased by eight, rising to a total of 915. Land-based rigs added five, closing the week at 893. Three offshore rigs came online, meaning there are now 21 such rigs active in the U.S.
Unusually, all eight additional rigs will target gas. Oil still dominates as a target with 738 rigs, compared to 177 gas-targeting rigs.
The additional rigs this week appear to all be developing conventional plays, based on trajectories. Two directional rigs and six vertical rigs came online, while the horizontal rig count was unchanged. There are now 76 directional, 776 horizontal and 63 vertical rigs active in the U.S.
The largest increase in state rig count came from Texas, where seven rigs came online this week. Four more became active in Louisiana, including all three offshore rigs. One rig also came online in Ohio, Utah and Mississippi, while one shut down in Alaska, Colorado, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Wyoming.
In contrast to the major states, most of the basins tracked by Baker saw no change. Five rigs came online in the Permian, and two became active in the Haynesville. One rig came online in the Cana Woodford and Utica, while one shut down in the DJ-Niobrara and Williston.
Activity in Canada also increased, with the Canadian rig count rising by five in the week. Four of these new rigs will target gas formations, while one will target oil. The rig count in Albert increased by seven, and by one in British Columbia. One rig came offline in Newfoundland, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
The oil-gas split is much more even in Canada than in the U.S. There are now 109 oil-targeting rigs and 99 gas-targeting rigs in Canada. This means 52.4% of Canadian rigs are targeting oil, compared to 80.7% of American rigs.
