North America’s rig count decreased by 21 week on week, according to Baker Hughes’ latest rotary rig count, which was released on March 28.
The region’s rig count now stands at 772, comprising 621 rigs from the U.S. and 151 rigs from Canada, the count revealed. Week on week, the U.S. dropped three rigs while Canada dropped 18, the count showed.
Of the total U.S. rig count of 621, 601 are categorized as land rigs and 20 are categorized as offshore rigs. There are 18 rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, according to the count, which revealed that the country has 506 oil rigs, 112 gas rigs, and three miscellaneous rigs. The total U.S. rig count comprises 558 horizontal rigs, 50 directional rigs, and 13 vertical rigs, Baker Hughes revealed.
Week on week, the U.S. dropped three offshore rigs, according to Baker Hughes, which showed that the country’s oil rig count dropped by the same figure during the same period. The U.S. dropped six directional rigs week on week but added two horizontal rigs and one vertical rig, the count revealed.
Although New Mexico added five rigs week on week, Texas dropped four, Louisiana dropped three and Colorado cut one week on week, the count showed.
Of Canada’s total rig count of 151, 76 are categorized as gas rigs and 75 are categorized as oil rigs. The former dropped by two week on week, while the latter dropped by 16 during the same timeframe, the count pointed out.
The total North America rig count is down 122 compared to year ago levels, according to Baker Hughes, which highlighted that the U.S. has driven this decline, cutting 134 rigs during the period while Canada’s count increased by 12. The U.S. has cut 86 oil rigs and 48 gas rigs, while Canada has dropped five gas rigs and added 17 oil rigs, year on year, the rig count showed.
In its previous rig count, which was released on March 22, Baker Hughes showed that North America cut 43 rigs week on week. The U.S. dropped five rigs week on week and Canada cut 38, that count showed.
“The U.S. oil rig count fell by one week on week to 509 according to the latest Baker-Hughes survey,” analysts at Standard Chartered said in a report sent to Rigzone on March 26, referring to Baker Hughes’ March 22 rig count.
“Oil activity in the Texas section of the Delaware Basin was unchanged at 72, while activity was a single rig lower at 97 rigs in the New Mexico section of the basin. Elsewhere in the Permian Basin, Midland Basin activity was unchanged at 123 rigs and other Permian activity was unchanged at 17 rigs,” they added.
“While there has been an uptick in oil drilling this year, none of the increase is in shale oil regions. The horizonal rig count (a broad proxy of shale oil activity) fell by one week on week to 454; it is lower by two year to date and within the narrow 450-457 range it has been in for the past 17 weeks,” they continued.
“In sharp contrast, the vertical rig count (a proxy for conventional oil developments) is higher by 11 year to date led by Alaska and Louisiana; at 55 it is just one rig below its 14-month high,” they went on to state.
Baker Hughes’ March 15 count showed that North America cut 11 rigs week on week and its March 8 rig count showed that North America cut 13 rigs week on week.
Baker Hughes’ March 1 rig count revealed that North America added three rigs week on week, its February 23 rig count showed that North America added two rigs week on week, and its February 16 count showed that North America’s rig count remained unchanged week on week.
The company’s February 9 rig count revealed that North America increased its rig count by four rigs week on week, its February 2 count showed that North America’s rig count stayed flat week on week, and its January 26 rig count showed that North America increased its rig count by eight rigs week on week.
Baker Hughes’ January 19 count revealed that North America increased its rig count by 11 rigs week on week, its January 12 rig count showed that North America increased its rig count by 86 rigs week on week, and its January 5 rig count, which marked the company’s first rotary rig count of 2024, showed that North America added 38 rigs week on week.
The company’s final rotary rig count of 2023 showed a notable week on week and year on year drop for North America. The region’s rig count decreased by 58 week on week and by 155 year on year, according to that count, which was released on December 29.
Baker Hughes, which has issued the rotary rig counts to the petroleum industry since 1944, describes the figures as an important business barometer for the drilling industry and its suppliers. The company obtains its working rig location information in part from Enverus.
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