Holiday Rig Count Falls. In a week shortened by the Thanksgiving Holiday, the number of U.S. rigs drilling for oil fell for the first time in three weeks as domestic crude prices fell to their lowest level in more than a year.
In its weekly report, Baker Hughes said drillers shut down three rigs in the most recent week, bringing the total number at work down to 885. The number of gas rigs was unchanged at 194.
The U.S. rig count, an early indicator of future output, is still higher than a year ago, when 747 rigs were active. The increase is because energy companies have spent more this year to ramp up production to capture prices that are still higher in 2018 than they were through much of 2017. Now, that increased production is taking a toll on prices.
They continued to take a beating Friday as U.S. benchmark crude registered its worst day in about three years and notched a seventh straight weekly decline. U.S. crude slid $4.21, or 7.7 percent, to settle at $50.42 a barrel, for the worst day since July 6, 2015, and the lowest settlement since Oct. 9, 2017. For the week, prices were down 10.6 percent.
Weekly Summary: Total rigs engaged in the exploration and production in the U.S. decreased by 3 for the holiday-shortened week ended November 21, 2018, down to 1079. Land rigs lost 6 down to 1052. The offshore rig count gained 3 up to 25. Rigs drilling in the inland waters remained the same at 2.
Oil Rig Count: The US crude oil rig count lost 3 from 888 falling to 885 for the week. There are 138 more rigs targeting oil than last year. Rigs drilling for oil represent 82.0 percent of all drilling activity.
US oil rigs tested an all-time high of 1,609 in October 2014. In contrast, the rigs hit 316 in May 2016—the lowest level since the 1940s.
Natural Gas Rig Count: The natural gas rig count – which plunged to its lowest in August of 2017 – remained flat at 194 rigs. The number of rigs drilling for gas is 18 rigs higher than last years count.
AMONG MAJOR OIL- AND GAS-PRODUCING STATES:
GAINERS
Louisiana jumped up 4 rigs while New Mexico climbed up 3 rigs.
UNCHANGED
Five states were unchanged this week, namely California, Colorado, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.
LOSERS
North Dakota and Texas lost 3 rigs each, Oklahoma and Wyoming lost 2 rigs each, while Alaska and Utah lost 1 rig each.
Summary of Major Plays – Ranked By Rig Count
– Permian Basin 493 rigs compared to last week’s 493 rigs
– Eagle Ford 78 rigs compared to last week’s 79 rigs
– Cana Woodford 55 rigs compared to last week’s 58 rigs
– Williston 56 rigs compared to last week’s 57 rigs
– Marcellus 58 rigs compared to last week’s 58 rigs
– Haynesville 51 rigs compared to last week’s 51 rigs
– DJ-Niobrara 29 rigs compared to last week’s 29 rigs
– Utica 17 rigs compared to last week’s 17 rigs
– Granite Wash 15 rigs compared to last week’s 16 rigs
– Arkoma Woodford 7 rigs compared to last week’s 7 rigs
For more details on the latest national and state news regarding last Friday’s Baker Hughes rig count data, check out the interactive rig count dashboard on the Oklahoma Index tab of our website.
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Compiled and Published by GIB KNIGHT
Gib Knight is a private oil and gas investor and consultant, providing clients advanced analytics and building innovative visual business intelligence solutions to visualize the results, across a broad spectrum of regulatory filings and production data in Oklahoma and Texas. He is the founder of OklahomaMinerals.com, an online resource designed for mineral owners in Oklahoma.
