Baker Hughes published its North American rig count report on Thursday, one day earlier than usual, due to the Good Friday holiday on March 30.
Oil prices have generally been supported by supply restraint led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia, which started in 2017 in order to rein in oversupply and prop up prices.
However, recent reports of a long-term production agreement between OPEC and Russia to limit the amount of oil on global markets may turn out to be premature. Many OPEC members, as well as Russia, likely can’t afford to reduce production enough to overcome rising production from the United States.
The overall rig count, including oil and gas rigs, has sat below 1,000 since April 2015 when oil prices collapsed.
Weekly Summary: Rigs engaged in the exploration and production in the U.S. shrank -2 for the week ended March 29, 2018, down to 993. Land rigs fell by -2 to 977. The offshore rig count was -1. Rigs drilling in the inland waters were +1 for the week.
Oil Rig Count: The US crude oil rig count fell by -7 to 797 for the week. There are 135 more rigs targeting oil than last year. Rigs drilling for oil represent 80.2 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 – went up by 4 rigs, gaining to 194. The number of rigs drilling for gas is 34 higher than last year’s level of 160.
Among major oil- and gas-producing states, Pennsylvania increased by two rigs and Louisiana and Oklahoma each gained one.
Texas lost three rigs and New Mexico, Ohio and West Virginia each decreased by one.
Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, North Dakota, Utah and Wyoming were unchanged.
Summary of Major Plays – Ranked By Rig Count
– Permian Basin 443 rigs compared to last week’s 444 rigs
– Eagle Ford 72 rigs compared to last week’s 72 rigs
– Cana Woodford 63 rigs compared to last week’s 59 rigs
– Williston 54 rigs compared to last week’s 54 rigs
– Marcellus 57 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 22 rigs compared to last week’s 23 rigs
– Granite Wash 12 rigs compared to last week’s 13 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.
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.
