Houston oilfield services company Baker Hughes reported Friday its weekly rig count report.
The U.S. oil drilling rig count declined this week for the first time in four weeks, although the rig count held close to its highest in over three years as production surges to record highs and some companies forecast even higher output this year.
The U.S. rig count, an early indicator of future output, is higher than a year ago when 729 rigs were active because energy companies have ramped up production to capture prices that are higher in 2018 than 2017.
More than half the total U.S. oil rigs are in the Permian Basin, the country’s biggest shale oil formation.
Weekly Summary: Total rigs engaged in the exploration and production in the U.S. declined by 1 for the week ended November 2, 2018, down to 1067. Land rigs remained flat at 1046. The offshore rig count lost 1 down to 18. Rigs drilling in the inland waters remained the same at 3.
Oil Rig Count: The US crude oil rig count went down -1 from 875 down to 874 for the week. There are 145 more rigs targeting oil than last year. Rigs drilling for oil represent 81.9 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 in August of 2017 – was flat remaining at 193 rigs. The number of rigs drilling for gas is 24 rigs higher than last years count.
Among major oil- and gas-producing states:
Gainers
Oklahoma gained 3 new rigs, while Louisiana, New Mexico, and Ohio each increased one rig.
Unchanged
Six states were unchanged this week, namely Alaska, California, Colorado, North Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.
Losers
Texas lost 4 rigs, while Kansas, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia lost 1 rig each..
Summary of Major Plays – Ranked By Rig Count
– Permian Basin 487 rigs compared to last week’s 489 rigs
– Eagle Ford 79 rigs compared to last week’s 79 rigs
– Cana Woodford 66 rigs compared to last week’s 63 rigs
– Williston 56 rigs compared to last week’s 56 rigs
– Marcellus 54 rigs compared to last week’s 56 rigs
– Haynesville 51 rigs compared to last week’s 51 rigs
– DJ-Niobrara 27 rigs compared to last week’s 27 rigs
– Utica 20 rigs compared to last week’s 19 rigs
– Granite Wash 15 rigs compared to last week’s 14 rigs
– Arkoma Woodford 7 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.
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.
