BHI: US rig count records another 20-unit jump, tops 800 mark

March 24, 2017
The US count of active drilling rigs climbed 20 units to 809 during the week ended Mar. 24, according to data from Baker Hughes Inc.

The US count of active drilling rigs climbed 20 units to 809 during the week ended Mar. 24, according to data from Baker Hughes Inc.

A now 10-week hot streak that began in mid-January reflects 8 double-digit increases and the deployment of 150 more rigs (OGJ Online, Mar, 17, 2017). The count has added 405 units—more than doubling—since the week ended May 27, 2016, the bottom of a drilling downturn that stretched back to late 2014.

Propelling the bulk of the rebound has been oil-directed rigs, which jumped 21 units this week to 652, up 130 units since Jan. 13 and 336 since May 27. Gas-directed rigs lost 2 units to 155, still up 74 units since Aug. 26. The tally of rigs considered unclassified doubled to 2.

Onshore units were up 22 units to 787, with horizontal rigs rising 15 units to 673, an increase of 359 units since May 27. Directional drilling rigs dropped 3 units to 58 and are down 14 units since Feb. 17.

The US tallies of offshore units and those drilling in inland waters each fell 1 unit to 18 and 4, respectively. However, the US offshore industry received some good news this week as bidding activity and value were up in central Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 247 following years of declines (OGJ Online, Mar. 22, 2017).

Douglas-Westwood Ltd. said this week, meanwhile, that it expects the continued recovery in US onshore drilling activity to enable growth across all global onshore upstream equipment lines during 2017-21.

The research and consulting firm expects global onshore expenditures to total $385 billion during 2017-21, an increase from the $371 billion the energy consultancy projected during 2016-20 in the last edition of its World Oilfield Equipment Market Forecast.

Adding to possible future Permian equipment bottlenecks has been the influx of companies and rigs into the basin over the past year. Marathon Oil Corp. this week agreed to its second deal during March for acreage in the basin, lifting its position to 71,500 acres in the northern Delaware and more than 91,000 in the Permian as a whole (OGJ Online, Mar. 21, 2017).

Marathon Oil currently has 1 operated rig working on its Permian acreage and plans to add 2 more midyear.

Texas, Oklahoma surges continue

Texas edged out Oklahoma this week to reclaim its usual spot as the leader in weekly increases among the major oil- and gas-producing states. The Lone Star State gained 8 units to 404, representing about half of all active rigs in the US. Texas has added 231 units since May 27.

The Permian led the major onshore producing regions with a 7-unit jump to 315, up 181 since May 13. The Eagle Ford continued its recent resurgence with another 2-unit rise to 72, up 41 units since Oct. 14. The Granite Wash and the Barnett each increased a unit to 13 and 5, respectively.

Oklahoma continued its hot streak with its own 7-unit rise to 118, a 64-unit increase since June 24. The Cana Woodford gained 2 units to 50. The Mississippian rose a unit to 7.

New Mexico, whose southeastern portion is also part of the Permian, climbed 3 units to 48. North Dakota, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, California, and Alaska each were up a unit to 43, 33, 11, 8, and 5, respectively.

The Marcellus increased 2 units to 44, up 23 since Aug. 12. The Williston edged up a unit to 43, a 21-unit rise since June 3.

Wyoming dropped a unit to 16. Reflecting the inland waters and offshore losses, Louisiana fell 2 units to 53.

Canada’s rig count, meanwhile, plunged 91 units to 185. Oil-directed rigs more than halved, diving 79 units to 70. Gas-directed rigs dropped 11 units to 114. One rig considered unclassified stopped work, bringing that tally to 1.

Contact Matt Zborowski at [email protected].