By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Feb. 27 -- US drilling activity increased by 20 rotary rigs to 1,134 working this week, the highest weekly rig count since early October 2001, officials at Baker Hughes Inc. reported Friday.
That's up from 912 rotary rigs working in the US and its waters during the same period a year ago.
All of the gain was in land operations, up by 22 rigs to 1,016 making hole. Activity in inland waters was unchanged with 20 rotary rigs working. However, offshore activity declined, down by 3 rigs to 96 active in the Gulf of Mexico and down 2 to 98 in US waters overall.
Canada's rig count dropped by 14 to 560 this week, still up slightly from 558 last year.
In the US, drilling for natural gas increased by 17 rigs to 971. The number drilling for oil was up by 3 to 158, and 5 rigs were unclassified. Directional drilling increased by 4 rigs to 293. Horizontal drilling gained by 6 rigs to 101.
Oklahoma led this week's increase, up by 16 rotary rigs to 161 working. Alaska increased by 2 to 14, while Texas and Louisiana added 1 rig each, for respective counts of 483 and 166. Wyoming was unchanged at 64. California was down 2 to 18, and New Mexico was down 1 to 61.
Utilization among mobile offshore rigs in the Gulf of Mexico was unchanged at 71.2% this week with 116 units contracted out of an available fleet of 163, said officials Friday at ODS-Petrodata Consulting & Research, Houston. Activity in European waters also was unchanged, with 79 units contracted out of a fleet of 96 for 82.3% utilization.
Worldwide, the number of mobile offshore rigs under contract increased by 1 to 530 out of total fleet of 653, boosting global utilization of such rigs to 81.2%.
