By the OGJ Online Staff
HOUSTON, Nov. 9 -- US drilling activity continued to decline this week, with the utilization rate at a 9-year low among rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, industry participants said Friday.
Officials of the ODS-Petrodata Group, Houston, reported another mobile offshore rig without a work contract in gulf waters. That dropped utilization to 58.2% with 121 rigs under contract out of the 208 available for work in the gulf.
By comparison, the utilization rate among mobile offshore rigs in European waters remained unchanged, at a near maximum 95.1% with 98 units contracted out of a fleet of 103.
Worldwide utilization among mobile offshore rigs fell to 80.7%, with 526 contracted out of a total fleet of 652.
There were 1,010 total rotary rigs drilling in the US and its waters this week. That's 48 fewer than the previous week and down from 1,067 during the same period a year ago, said officials at Baker Hughes Inc., Houston.
According to their tally, the number of rigs actually drilling in the Gulf of Mexico during any part of the week was down by 3 to 129.
Most of the decline was among land rigs drilling in the US, down 44 from the previous week to 859. There were 18 rigs working inland waters this week, down 1 from last week.
There were 834 rigs drilling for natural gas in the US this week, 40 fewer than the previous week. The number of rigs drilling for oil was down 8 to 176.
Among the active US rigs, 252 were doing directional drilling, down 14, and 76 were drilling horizontal wells, 2 fewer than last week.
Leading the decline in US drilling were Texas, down 29 rigs for the week, and New Mexico, down 8.
Canada had 270 rotary rigs making hole, 11 fewer than the previous week and down from 328 a year ago.