US drilling activity increased this week

May 25, 2001
US drilling activity jumped this week, and global utilization of mobile offshore rigs also increased, industry analysts reported Friday. There were 1,262 rotary rigs drilling in the US, 37 more than the previous week and up sharply from 864 a year ago.


By the OGJ Online Staff

HOUSTON, May 25 -- US drilling activity jumped this week, and global utilization of mobile offshore rigs also increased, industry analysts reported Friday.

There were 1,262 rotary rigs drilling in the US and its territorial waters this week, said officials at Baker Hughes Inc. That's 37 more than the previous week and up sharply from 864 a year ago.

Of the rigs working this week, 1,030 were drilling for natural gas, 230 were drilling for oil, and two were unclassified.

New Mexico had the biggest increase in its rig count, up eight to 75. Oklahoma followed with a five-rig increase to 151. Texas, Louisiana, and Wyoming added four rigs each, boosting their rig counts to 504, 228, and 57, respectively.

Canada had 165 rotary rigs making hole, five more than the previous week and up from 131 last year.

The utilization rate among mobile offshore rigs in the US sector of the Gulf of Mexico remained unchanged at 89.7% with 191 units under contract out of the 213 available, said officials at the ODS-Petrodata Group in Houston.

However, they reported a net gain of one rig under contract in European waters. That boosted European utilization to 94.1% with 96 offshore rigs contracted out of a fleet of 102.

Worldwide, the number of contracted mobile offshore rigs increased by three to 585 out of a total 650 available, for 90% utilization.

ODS-Petrodata also reported that 248 offshore platform rigs are contracted out of the total 310 available for work worldwide for 80% utilization among those units.