U.S. energy companies added oil rigs for a second week in a row as crude prices hovered near their highest levels since 2014, prompting drillers to return to the field.
Second-straight weekly rise in the U.S. oil-rig count
Analysts at Simmons & Co, energy specialists at U.S. investment bank Piper Jaffray, this week slightly increased their forecast the total oil and natural gas rig count to an average of 1,006 in 2018 and 1,131 in 2019. Two weeks ago, they forecast 1,004 in 2018 and 1,128 in 2019.
Weekly Summary: Rigs engaged in the exploration and production in the U.S. totaled 946 for the week ended February 2, 2018, down 1 from last week. Land rigs remained the same while the offshore rig count fell by 1. Rigs drilling in the inland waters were flat for the week.
Oil Rig Count: The US crude oil rig count jumped by 6 to 765 for the week. There are 182 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 – lost 7 rigs, falling down to 181. The number of rigs drilling for gas is 36 higher than last year’s level of 145.
Among major oil- and gas-producing states, Colorado increased by two and North Dakota and Ohio each gained one.
Wyoming lost three rigs and Louisiana and Texas each decreased by one.
Alaska, Arkansas, California, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Utah and West Virginia were unchanged.
Summary of Major Plays – Ranked By Rig Count
– Permian Basin 427 rigs compared to last week’s 427 rigs
– Eagle Ford 66 rigs compared to last week’s 66 rigs
– Cana Woodford 68 rigs compared to last week’s 68 rigs
– Williston 46 rigs compared to last week’s 45 rigs
– Marcellus 55 rigs compared to last week’s 55 rigs
– Haynesville 47 rigs compared to last week’s 45 rigs
– DJ-Niobrara 26 rigs compared to last week’s 25 rigs
– Utica 24 rigs compared to last week’s 23 rigs
– Granite Wash 12 rigs compared to last week’s 12 rigs
– Arkoma Woodford 8 rigs compared to last week’s 9 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.
