Texas gains 3, Oklahoma up 2 rigs as U. S. rig count rises to 1,008
U.S. energy companies added oil rigs for a second week in a row, following through on plans to spend more on drilling this year with crude prices at three-year highs. At this time a year ago there were 847 active rigs.
More than half the total oil rigs are in the Permian Basin in West Texas and eastern New Mexico. Active units there increased by one this week to 445, the most since January 2015.
The U.S. government expects oil output in the Permian to rise to a record high near 3.2 million barrels per day(MMbbl/d) in April, about 30% of total U.S. oil production
Weekly Summary: Rigs engaged in the exploration and production in the U.S. climbed +5 for the week ended April 13, 2018, up to 1008. Land rigs were +1 up to 988. The offshore rig count gained 4. Rigs drilling in the inland waters were flat for the week.
Oil Rig Count: The US crude oil rig count grew by 7 to 815 for the week. There are 132 more rigs targeting oil than last year. Rigs drilling for oil represent 80.8 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 last August – fell-2 down to 192. The number of rigs drilling for gas is 30 higher than last year’s level of 162.
Among major oil- and gas-producing states, Texas added three rigs, Oklahoma gained two while Colorado, Louisiana and Ohio each added one.
Kansas, New Mexico and West Virginia each lost one rig.
Alaska, Arkansas, California, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Utah and Wyoming were unchanged.
Summary of Major Plays – Ranked By Rig Count
– Permian Basin 445 rigs compared to last week’s 444 rigs
– Eagle Ford 75 rigs compared to last week’s 73 rigs
– Cana Woodford 65 rigs compared to last week’s 63 rigs
– Williston 55 rigs compared to last week’s 55 rigs
– Marcellus 55 rigs compared to last week’s 56 rigs
– Haynesville 52 rigs compared to last week’s 52 rigs
– DJ-Niobrara 24 rigs compared to last week’s 24 rigs
– Utica 25 rigs compared to last week’s 24 rigs
– Granite Wash 12 rigs compared to last week’s 12 rigs
– Arkoma Woodford 8 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.
Thank you for your continued support and keep an eye out for this week’s recap on Friday Snippets!
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.
