Low natural gas prices push US drilling activity lower again

Oct. 26, 2001
US drilling activity dropped with 1,063 rotary rigs working this week, down 37 from the previous week and even falling below year-ago level of 1,084, Baker Hughes Inc., Houston, reported Friday.

By the OGJ Online Staff

HOUSTON, Oct. 26 -- US drilling activity dropped with 1,063 rotary rigs working this week, down 37 from the previous week and even falling below year-ago level of 1,084, Baker Hughes Inc., Houston, reported Friday.

The biggest fall-off was in land drilling, down 40 rigs to 904 total. Activity in inland waters was down 2 rigs to 23, while the number of rigs working offshore was up 5 to 134. All of the offshore gain was in the Gulf of Mexico, where 130 rigs were drilling this week.

The drilling decline apparently was driven by low prices for natural gas. The number of rigs drilling for gas this week was down 32 to 876. Another 187 rigs were drilling for oil, 5 less than the previous week.

Of the rigs still working, 270 were doing directional drilling, down 5 from the prior week; and 73 were drilling horizontal wells, down 1.

Oklahoma led the decline, down 14 rigs to 100 this week. Texas had 430 rigs making hole, a loss of 13. New Mexico's rig count was down 5 to 59, while California was down 3 to 31.

There were 193 rigs working in Louisiana and its waters this week, up 4. Alaska's rig count was up 2 to 16, and Wyoming was unchanged at 54.

Canada had 284 rotary rigs working this week, 19 less than last week and down sharply from 364 during the same period last year.

Although Baker Hughes reported more rigs actually drilling in the gulf this week, the number of mobile offshore rigs under contract in those waters declined by one, said ODS-Petrodata Group, Houston. That pushed the utilization rate down half a point to 61.5% with 128 rigs contracted out of the 208 available.

In European waters, utilization was unchanged at 95.1% for the sixth consecutive week, with 98 mobile offshore rigs contracted out of a fleet of 103. Worldwide utilization also was unchanged at 81.6% for the week, with 532 rigs under contract out of a total fleet of 652.