11 more rigs shut down
U.S. drilling activity continued to fall this week, according the latest edition of Baker Hughes’ Weekly Rig Count.
The total number of rigs active in the U.S. fell to 898 this week, the first time the count has been below 900 since May. Eleven rigs shut down in the week, split between nine land-based rigs and two offshore. There are now 898 land rigs, one inland waters and 18 offshore rigs operating.
The decline was split relatively proportionally between oil and gas, as eight oil-targeting rigs and three gas-targeting rigs shut down. A total of 729 oil rigs and 169 gas rigs are still active.
Each trajectory type saw activity decrease in the week, with one directional, five horizontal and five vertical rigs shutting down.
There was a large amount of change in the major states tracked by Baker. Colorado added the most rigs, with four coming online. Three began activities in Texas, and two started operations in Alaska. Activity in Oklahoma declined sharply, as eight rigs shut down. Four came offline in Louisiana, two shut down in New Mexico and North Dakota, and one rig stopped operations in Utah.
The major basins tracked by Baker, on the other hand, saw much smaller changes. One rig came online in the Permian and DJ-Niobrara, while one shut down in the Ardmore Woodford and Williston. Two shut down in the Arkoma Woodford, and three came offline in the Haynesville.
Montana Williston gets a rig
There are now 48 Williston rigs, but only 47 rigs operating in North Dakota, meaning one Williston rig is drilling in Montana. This is the first Williston rig in Montana since March. While drilling in Montana was somewhat popular before the price crash in 2014, reaching a peak of 25 rigs in 2012, activity cratered in 2015. Since May 2015, there have only been four periods of rig activity in Montana, and never more than one rig active at a time.
Source: Baker Hughes
