By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Nov. 15 -- S drilling activity this week climbed by 4 rigs to a total of 830 compared with 993 units that were drilling during the same period a year ago, Baker Hughes Inc. officials reported Friday.
For the week ended Nov. 8, the rig count had dropped to the lowest level in 26 weeks with 826 rotary rigs working, down 28 from the previous week and well below the 1,010 units that were drilling during the same period a year ago.
For the week ended Nov. 15, the number of US land rigs working rose by 8 to 704 during the week. Offshore drilling was down 4 rigs to104 in the Gulf of Mexico. Activity in inland waters held steady at 20.
The number of US rigs drilling for gas rose 5 to 678 this week. The number of rigs drilling for oil declined by 2 to 147. Of the total rigs working, 5 were unclassified. Directional drilling was up 8 units to 217. Another 61 rigs were doing horizontal drilling, 1 fewer than last week.
Texas gained 3 rigs with 333 units working, California gained 2, with 25 units working, and New Mexico gained 1, with 54 rigs working. Louisiana had no change with 164 rigs working. Alaska's rig count also held steady with 7 units, and Oklahoma held steady with 93 units. Wyoming was down 2 rigs to 35.
Canada had 271 rotary rigs working this week, 9 more than the previous week and higher than the 268 active for the same time last year.
The number of US rigs actually drilling offshore reached a 2-month high, with the 131 of the region's 187 rigs under contract in the Gulf of Mexico, said officials at ODS-Petrodata, Houston. Drilling rig utilization rose to 70.1%.
Activity was unchanged in European waters for the second consecutive week, with 85 mobile offshore rigs contracted out of a fleet of 102, for 83.3% utilization. Worldwide, the number of mobile offshore rigs under contract increased by 9 to 541 out of a total fleet of 657. That triggered a slight rise in utilization to 82.3%.