935 U.S. rigs operating this week; Permian shows highest activity since February 2015
U.S. drilling activity continued to decline this week, according to the latest edition of Baker Hughes’ Weekly Rig Count.
The total number of rigs operating in the U.S. fell by one, dropping to 935 this week. Two land rigs shut down, meaning there are now 913 such rigs active. One inland waters rig also shut down, leaving only three inland waters rigs active. Offshore activities continued to bounce back, though, adding two rigs this week.
Operations have continued to pull back from the recent concentration on oil targets. Activities during the shale resurgence were typically 80% oil-targeting rigs and 20% gas targeting rigs. This is unusual, as the overall average since Baker began tracking the oil/gas split is 42.4% oil, 56.6% gas. This week, five oil targeting rigs shut down, while four gas-targeting rigs came online. There are now 744 oil-targeting rigs and 190 gas-targeting rigs active in the U.S., or 79.6% oil and 20.3% gas.
The dominance of horizontal activities fell slightly this week, as five horizontal rigs shut down. Three directional rigs and one vertical became active. There are now 790 horizontal, 77 directional and 68 vertical rigs active in the U.S.
Most of the major states saw rig counts change this week. Louisiana added three rigs, and Alaska, New Mexico and Texas each added one. Two rigs shut down in Colorado, and three shut down in both North Dakota and Oklahoma.
Permian shows highest activity since February 2015
After declining by two last week, the Permian more than returned by adding six this week. There are now 386 rigs operational in the Permian, the most since early February 2015. The only other major basin to add rigs was the Arkoma Woodford, where one rig came online. One rig shut down in the Cana Woodford, Granite Wash and Haynesville, while two came offline in the DJ-Niobrara and three ceased operations in the Eagle Ford and Williston.
In Canada, on the other hand, operations are continuing to increase. Eight rigs began drilling in the country this week, meaning there are now 220 Canadian rigs operational. The oil/gas split is much more even in Canada, with 122 oil-targeting rigs and 98 gas-targeting rigs currently active.
