Rig Count Update: June 15, 2018

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Houston oilfield services company Baker Hughes reported Friday its weekly rig count report.  The overall US Rig count fell while U.S. energy companies added one oil rig this week, the fourth consecutive week of increases, despite a 9% decline in crude prices over the past four weeks.

U.S. crude futures were on track to fall for a fourth week in a row this week, falling briefly below $65 per barrel on June 15 ahead of an OPEC meeting next week where Saudi Arabia and Russia were expected to say they will boost output.

So far this year, U.S. oil futures have averaged $65.15 per barrel. That compares with averages of $50.85 in 2017 and $43.47 in 2016.

Closing Oil Prices – Friday, June 15th, 2018

August Brent crude LCOQ8, the global benchmark, declined by $2.50 to $73.44 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe. That’s the lowest settlement since May 2, and they suffered a loss of roughly 4% for the week.

July West Texas Intermediate crude CLN8, the U.S. benchmark traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange, lost $1.83 to settle at $65.06 a barrel, pulling back after a four-session climb. It saw its lowest finish since June 6 and lost about 1% for the week.

RIG COUNT

Weekly Summary: Rigs engaged in the exploration and production in the U.S. fell by -3 for the week ended June 15, 2018, down to 1059.  Land rigs lost 4 down to 1035. The offshore rig count was flat and remained at 20.    Rigs drilling in the inland waters were up 1, going from 3 to 4. 

Oil Rig Count: The US crude oil rig count inched up by 1 at 863 for the week. There are 116 more rigs targeting oil than last year. Rigs drilling for oil represent 81.4 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 – was down 4 to 194. The number of rigs drilling for gas is 8 higher than last year’s level of 186.

Among major oil- and gas-producing states:

Gainers

New Mexico and North Dakota each added three rigs and Louisiana gained one.

Unchanged

Five states were unchanged this week, namely Arkansas, California, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming.

Losers

Texas lost four rigs, Alaska declined by two and Colorado, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia each lost one.

Summary of Major Plays – Ranked By Rig Count

– Permian Basin 476 rigs compared to last week’s 480 rigs

– Eagle Ford 82 rigs compared to last week’s 80 rigs

– Cana Woodford 72 rigs compared to last week’s 73 rigs

– Williston 57 rigs compared to last week’s 55 rigs

– Marcellus 54 rigs compared to last week’s 56 rigs

– Haynesville 54 rigs compared to last week’s 54 rigs

– DJ-Niobrara 26 rigs compared to last week’s 26 rigs

– Utica 23 rigs compared to last week’s 24 rigs

– Granite Wash 16 rigs compared to last week’s 15 rigs

– Arkoma Woodford 8 rigs compared to last week’s 9 rigs

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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.

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.

SOURCE: Baker Hughes