By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, May 20 -- US drilling activity was essentially unchanged from the previous week with the same total of 1,830 rotary rigs working, up from 1,518 units busy in the comparable period a year ago, Baker Hughes Inc. reported.
Actually, land operations increased by 1 rig to 1,781 drilling. Inland waters activity also increased by 1 rig to 18 units. Offshore drilling, however, decreased by 2 rigs to 31 working in US waters, all in the Gulf of Mexico where the rig count was down 1 to 31.
Of the US rigs working, the number drilling for oil continued climbing, up by 7 to 954. There were 886 rotary rigs drilling for natural gas, 8 fewer than the previous week. There were 10 rotary rigs unclassified. Horizontal drilling dipped by 3 to 1,038. Directional drilling was down 1 to 225 rotary rigs.
Oklahoma’s weekly rig count fell by 8 to 172 this week, and Louisiana was down 4 with 169 rigs working. Alaska’s rig count declined by 1 to 5. New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming were unchanged with rig counts of 75, 72, and 42, respectively. North Dakota, Arkansas, and West Virginia gained 1 rig each for respective totals of 163, 33, and 19. Rig counts in Texas and Pennsylvania increased by 2 units each to 819 and 110. California had the biggest gain this week, up 4 to 45 working.
Canada’s rotary rig count increased by 16 to 143, compared with 173 drilling in the same period last year.