North American rig count dragged down by Canada

Petroleum News

The North American rotary rig count, largely due to a dramatic downturn in Canada, tumbled by 51 to 1,458 during the week ending Sept. 5, according to rig monitor Baker Hughes.

Canada's rig count alone fell by 40 to 367 compared to the previous week. However, Baker Hughes said the decline was expected to be temporary, and in part was caused by rigs forced down because of military activity near drill sites and in part because of timing issues related to rigs moving between locations.

In the United States, the weekly rig count fell by a net 11 to 1,091, but was still up by 240 compared to the same period last year. The onshore rig count fell by 14 and the Gulf of Mexico count slipped by one, while the inland waters count increased by four rigs, according to Baker Hughes.

Of the rigs operating in North America during the week, 937 were dedicated to natural gas and 152 to oil, while two were used for miscellaneous purposes. Also, 725 rigs were used to drill vertical wells, 274 for directional wells and 92 for horizontal wells.

Among the leading producing states in the United States, Texas took the biggest hit during the week as its rig count plummeted by 10 to 481. Oklahoma's count fell by five rigs to 140. Wyoming dropped by four rigs to 62. And California's count slipped by one to 23. Alaska was unchanged at six rigs, while Louisiana's count increased by three to 152 and New Mexico increased by three to 66 rigs.