Current total stands at 1,062
U.S. drilling activity continued its steady climb today, adding rigs for the tenth week in a row according to Baker Hughes Weekly Rig Count.
Two rigs came online this week, bringing the national total to 1,062, the highest level in more than three years. This week’s increase is the tenth in a row, the longest continuous rise in activity since the sustained activity jump in early 2017.
Land-based rigs showed consistent activity this week, holding at 1,149 rigs. Inland waters and offshore each added one rig, bringing totals to three and 22, respectively.
Weekly gains were evenly distributed among oil and gas operations, as one rig came online in each. There are now 862 oil rigs, 198 gas and two miscellaneous currently drilling.
Operators continued to shift in favor of horizontal drilling, with five such rigs coming online this week. Two directional rigs also became active, while five vertical rigs shut down. Directional rigs once again outnumber vertical rigs, continuing a relatively new trend. Last July saw directional activity exceed that of vertical drilling for the first extended period in history. Directional rigs have outnumbered verticals for 44 of the 47 weeks since then. Of course, both trajectories are vastly outnumbered by horizontal drilling, the focus of modern operations. There are currently 934 horizontal rigs active, compared to 67 directional and 61 vertical.
Texas claims more than half of all U.S. rigs
Texas remains the heart of today’s oil and gas drilling action. The state singlehandedly accounts for more than half of all active U.S. rigs. The Lone Star State added three rigs this week, bringing its total to 538 active rigs. Additional increases were seen in Colorado, which added two rigs, and Louisiana and Mississippi, which each added one. Two rigs shut down in Oklahoma and Wyoming, and one came offline in North Dakota.
The three new Texas rigs appear to have moved straight into the Permian, as the world’s most popular shale basin added three new rigs this week. One rig also came online in the Granite Wash, while one shut down in the Williston. The only significant decline in activity was seen in the Cana Woodford, where three rigs came offline.
