US drilling continues to increase

April 8, 2011
US drilling activity made a small advance this week, up by 6 rotary rigs to 1,782 working, compared with 1,476 making hole in the comparable period last year, Baker Hughes Inc. reported.

By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Mar. 8
-- US drilling activity made a small advance this week, up by 6 rotary rigs to 1,782 working, compared with 1,476 making hole in the comparable period last year, Baker Hughes Inc. reported.

Land operations accounted for the majority of change with 1,735 rotary rigs working, 6 more than the previous week. Offshore drilling increased by 1 rig to 28, all of them in the Gulf of Mexico. That was offset by the decline of 1 rig working inland waters to 19 still active.

Of the US rigs working, 889 were drilling for natural gas, 2 fewer than the previous week. The number drilling for oil increased by 9 to 886. There were 7 rotary rigs unclassified. Horizontal drilling decreased by 8 rigs to 1,009. Directional drilling increased by 2 units to 230.

Texas reported the largest increase in its rig count among major producing states with a jump of 21 units to 791 drilling this week. The only other increase was in Pennsylvania, up by 3 rigs to 107 working. Unchanged were North Dakota at 159, Colorado 72, California 41, Wyoming 40, and Arkansas 36. Louisiana and West Virginia were down 1 rig each to 174 and 15, respectively. New Mexico and Alaska lost 2 rigs each for respective counts of 76 and 4. Oklahoma’s rig count fell by 15 to 160 rigs still drilling.

Canada’s rotary rig count suffered a seasonal decline of 94 with the spring thaw to 191 units still working. That compared with 126 rigs drilling in the same period last year.