The US rig count during the week ended Nov. 3 continued its downward slide with an 11-unit drop, according to Baker Hughes data.
At 898 rigs working, the count has fallen 60 units since a recent peak on July 28. The decline has accelerated over the past 5 weeks, shedding 42 units during that time (OGJ Online, Oct. 27, 2017).
US oil-directed rigs lost 8 units to 729, down 39 units since their recent peak on Aug. 11. Gas-directed rigs dropped 3 units to 169, down 21 units over the past 6 weeks.
Nine land-based rigs went offline, 5 of which were drilling horizontally, bringing that tally to 764, down 46 units since July 28. Five rigs drilling vertically stopped work to bring that count to 61, while 1 rig drilling directionally went offline to bring that count to 73.
Two rigs stopped drilling off Louisiana, pushing the overall US offshore count down to 18. One rig remained drilling in inland waters.
Louisiana’s overall count fell 4 units to 58. The Haynesville lost 3 units to 38.
Oklahoma’s 8-unit dive led the major oil- and gas-producing states. Its tally of 117 is down 19 units since July 7. The Arkoma Woodford lost 2 units to 8, while the Ardmore Woodford halved to 1.
New Mexico and North Dakota each decreased 2 units to 65 and 47, respectively. The Williston was down 1 unit to 48. Utah also declined 1 unit and now totals 10.
Alaska gained 2 units to 5. Texas rose 3 units to 444, down 24 units since Aug. 4. The Permian, which has remained mostly resilient amid the recent US drilling drop, edged up 1 unit to 380, down 6 since Sept. 22.
Colorado jumped 4 units to 37 as the DJ-Niobrara gained 1 unit to 26.
Canada’s rig count, meanwhile, edged up 1 unit to 192, down 28 since Sept. 22. Oil-directed rigs rose 4 units to 100, and gas-directed rigs dropped 3 units to 91. One rig considered unclassified remained drilling.
Contact Matt Zborowski at [email protected].
