US oil drilling in this year’s third quarter climbed 16% from a year earlier, the American Petroleum Institute said in its latest quarterly well completion report.
The report estimates that 10,574 wells were completed in the third quarter, including 6,379 oil wells, 3,188 natural gas wells, and 1,007 dry holes.
A year ago API reported that an estimated 4,434 gas wells were completed in 2010’s third quarter, 28% more than during the comparable 2009 period (OGJ Online, Oct. 26, 2010).
Estimated footage was 77,123,000 ft drilled in the recent quarter, a 6% increase from third quarter 2010.
An estimated 31,620 wells have been completed to date in 2011. API also reported increases in oil well completions for the 2011 first and second quarters (OGJ Online, Apr. 15, 2011; OGJ Online, July 15, 2011).