North American drilling activity levels off

Feb. 9, 2001
Drilling activity in the US and its waters fell slightly this week. A total of 1,137 rotary rigs were working, down one from last week, Baker Hughes Inc. reported Friday. The total is still up strongly from 762 a year ago.


HOUSTON, Feb. 9�Drilling activity in the US and its waters fell slightly this week. A total of 1,137 rotary rigs were working, down one from last week, Baker Hughes Inc. reported Friday.

The total is still up strongly from 762 a year ago.

On land, 949 rigs were working in the US this week, down four from the previous week and up 320 from a year ago. Twenty-two rigs were drilling in inland waters, up one from a week ago; and 166 rigs were drilling offshore, up two from a week ago.

Rigs drilling for gas were 903, up three from a week ago and up 287 from a year ago.

In New Mexico, 74 rigs were drilling, up five from a week ago. In Texas, the count rose two to 449. In Louisiana and Oklahoma the count fell: Louisiana's total was 221, down two; and Oklahoma's count was 127, down three. Alaska remained unchanged at 13, as did California at 30, and Wyoming at 54.

In Canada, 565 rigs were working. That count was down 14 from last week and up 16 from a year ago.

Overall activity in the Gulf of Mexico rose slightly, said Offshore Data Services Inc. (ODS), Houston. Two more rigs came under contract than last week's 80, bringing the utilization rate to 86.7%.

Three more rigs came under contract in European waters, said ODS, causing utilization to rise to 91.1% of a total fleet of 101. Worldwide utilization rose five rigs to 563, yielding a utilization rate of 86.7%.