US drilling dips after 12 weeks of increases

Sept. 3, 2010
US drilling activity fell with 1,653 rotary rigs working, 3 less than the previous week. The count was up sharply, however, from the 1,009 units drilling during the comparable period in 2009, Baker Hughes Inc. reported.

By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Sept. 3
-- US drilling activity fell with 1,653 rotary rigs working, 3 less than the previous week. The count was up sharply, however, from the 1,009 units drilling during the comparable period in 2009, Baker Hughes Inc. reported.

All of this week’s loss was in land operations with 1,619 units drilling, 3 less than the previous week. Inland waters activity was unchanged at 14 rigs. Offshore drilling also was unchanged with 20 still working, all in the Gulf of Mexico.

Of the US rigs working this week, 977 were drilling for natural gas, 4 more than the previous week. The number drilling for oil declined by 7 to 665 units. There were 11 rotary rigs unclassified. Horizontal drilling was down by 1 to 903 rotary rigs. Directional drilling decreased by 3 to 222.

Among the major producing states, New Mexico had the biggest increase in its rig count, up 6 to 70 drilling. Pennsylvania and Wyoming expanded by 2 rigs each to respective counts of 91 and 42. Louisiana and California were up by 1 rig each to 186 and 36, respectively. Colorado, West Virginia, and Alaska were unchanged at 67, 24, and 6, in that order. Arkansas lost 1 rig with 38 units still working. North Dakota was down 3 rigs to 128, Oklahoma lost 5 units to 132, and Texas’ rig count fell to 723, down 6 units this week.

Canada’s rotary rig count increased by 2 units to 388 drilling. This compares with 184 rigs working in the same period last year.