Rig Count: The Cana Woodford Basin in Oklahoma added nine rigs over the week.
The U.S. oil drilling rig count rose for the fourth week in a row and ended the month sharply higher as producers plan to boost output as they reap profits from crude trading near three-year highs.
For the month, drillers added 28 oil rigs in April after cutting two rigs in March. So far this year, the rig count has risen by 78.
The U.S. rig count, an early indicator of future output, is much higher than a year ago when 697 rigs were active. Energy companies have been steadily increasing spending on drilling and completions since mid-2016 when crude prices began recovering from a two-year crash.
Weekly Summary: Rigs engaged in the exploration and production in the U.S. climbed +8 for the week ended April 27, 2018, up to 1021. Land rigs were +7 up to 998. The offshore rig count was flat. Rigs drilling in the inland waters gained +1 for the week.
Oil Rig Count: The US crude oil rig count grew by 5 to 825 for the week. There are 128 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 – climbed +3 at 195. The number of rigs drilling for gas is 24 higher than last year’s level of 171.
Among major oil- and gas-producing states, Oklahoma added six rigs, Texas gained four, North Dakota added three, Louisiana and Ohio each gained two and California added one.
Alaska and New Mexico each declined by three, Wyoming lost two and Colorado, Kansas and Pennsylvania each declined by one.
Arkansas, Utah and West Virginia were unchanged.
US RIG COUNT INFOGRAPHIC
Summary of Major Plays – Ranked By Rig Count
– Permian Basin 452 rigs compared to last week’s 453 rigs
– Eagle Ford 75 rigs compared to last week’s 76 rigs
– Cana Woodford 70 rigs compared to last week’s 61 rigs
– Williston 56 rigs compared to last week’s 53 rigs
– Marcellus 54 rigs compared to last week’s 55 rigs
– Haynesville 53 rigs compared to last week’s 52 rigs
– DJ-Niobrara 21 rigs compared to last week’s 23 rigs
– Utica 25 rigs compared to last week’s 23 rigs
– Granite Wash 11 rigs compared to last week’s 11 rigs
– Arkoma Woodford 9 rigs compared to last week’s 8 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.
Rig Count Dashboard
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.
