By the OGJ Online Staff
HOUSTON, Feb. 1 -- US drilling activity continued to dwindle away with 853 rotary rigs working this week, said officials at Baker Hughes Inc., Houston.
That's 6 fewer rigs drilling than the previous week and down from 1,138 rigs during the same period a year ago when drilling activity was still on the rise. With lower commodity prices for oil and natural gas, the US rig count has spiraled downward for the last 6 months.
Canada had 452 rotary rigs working this week, 7 less than the previous week and down from 579 last year.
Among the US units still working were 714 land rigs, 2 less than the previous week. The number of offshore rigs actually drilling also was down 3 to 114 in the Gulf of Mexico and 121 total off US coasts. Those rigs working inland waters also were down 1 to 18.
There were 709 rotary rigs drilling for natural gas, down 5 for the week; and 143 drilling for oil, down 1. One unit remained unclassified.
The number of rigs engaged in horizontal drilling was unchanged at 61, but units doing directional drilling were down 6 to 226.
Texas led the US decline, down 9 rigs this week with 365 still working. Louisiana's rig count lost 2 to 160, while Wyoming had 47 active rigs, 1 less than last week.
However, Oklahoma put 2 more units to work for a total count of 75. New Mexico, California, and Alaska increased their rig counts by 1 each to 40, 26, and 16, respectively.
ODS-Petrodata Group, Houston, reported a net decline of four mobile offshore rigs under contract in the Gulf of Mexico this week. The rig utilization rate dropped 2 points to 62.2% with 125 units still under contract out of the 201 rigs available in those waters.
There also was a net decrease of 2 mobile offshore rigs under contract in European waters, lowering the utilization rate a point to 91.3% with 94 rigs still contracted out of a fleet of 103.
However, those losses were diluted by gains in other markets, resulting in a net decline of 3 rigs coming off contracts worldwide. Around the globe, there were 533 mobile offshore rigs under contract out of a total fleet 655 for an utilization rate of 81.4%.