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At 408 US rig count approaches record low
Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
At a count of 408 for the week ending May 1, the U.S. drilling rig count is approaching the low of 404 it hit in May 2016.
Baker Hughes reported the 408 count for U.S. oil and gas drilling rigs, down from 465 from the week ending April 24 and down 582 from a year ago.
The count continues a recent steep drop: down by 64, 73, 62, 64, 44 and 20 rigs respectively, a total of 317, over the previous six weeks.
In its weekly rig count the Houston oilfield services company said 325 rigs targeted oil, down 53 from the previous week and down by 482 from a year ago, while 81 targeted natural gas, down four from the previous week and down 102 from a year ago. There were two miscellaneous rigs active, unchanged from the previous week and up by two from a year ago.
The company said 23 of the holes were directional, 374 were horizontal and 11 were vertical.
No states had week-over-week rig counts increases.
Rig counts were unchanged in Alaska (3), California (5), Ohio (9) and West Virginia (7).
The rig count in Texas, which at 201 has the most active rigs, was down by 30 from the previous week and down by 283 from a year ago.
Colorado (8) was down by seven rigs.
Oklahoma (15) and Utah (0) were each down by five rigs.
New Mexico (66) was down by four rigs.
Pennsylvania (23) and Wyoming (4) were each down by two rigs.
Louisiana (39) and North Dakota (26) were each down by one rig.
Baker Hughes shows Alaska with three active rigs for the week ending May 1, down by six from a year ago.
The largest rig count drop by basin was in the Permian, which also has the most active rigs at 219. The Permian count was down 27 from the previous week and down 240 from a year ago.
The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981. It bottomed out in May 2016 at 404. Baker Hughes has issued North American rig counts since 1944 and international rig counts since 1975.
Baker Hughes’ international rig count, onshore and offshore, released for April on May 1, shows a count for international rigs of 915 in April, down 144 from a March count of 1,059 and down 147 from an April 2019 count of 1,062. The offshore portion of the international count for April was 228, Baker Hughes said, down 16 from 244 in March and down 23 from an April 2019 count of 251.
The average U.S. rig count for April was 566, down 206 from 772 in March and down 446 from 1,012 in April 2019. The average Canadian rig count for April was 33, down 100 from 133 in March and down 33 from 66 in April 2019.
The worldwide rig count, international plus North America, was 1,514 in April down 450 from 1,964 in March and down 626 from 2,140 in April 2019.
The company said the count reflects rigs actively exploring for oil or natural gas in the U.S., Canada and international markets. Weekly counts began for the U.S. and Canada in 1944; the monthly international rig count was initiated in 1975.
- KRISTEN NELSON
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