US oil and gas drilling rig activity last week fell again this week, down 7 units to reach a total of 1,993 rigs working. The rig count for the week ended Dec. 2 was up by 280 units from the comparable period a year ago, Baker Hughes Inc. reported.
The bulk of the decrease was in land operations with a decline of 10 rotary rigs to 1,931 drilling. Inland waters activity held steady for 3 weeks at 20 rigs working. Offshore drilling gained 3 units to 42 active.
Of the US rigs working, 1,132 were drilling for oil, up 2 rigs compared with a week ago. Rigs drilling for gas for the week ended Dec. 2 lost 9 units, to 856. There were 5 rotary rigs unclassified, unchanged from the previous week.
Directional drilling activity up 4 units, reaching 217 rigs working. Horizontal drilling was up 1 rig to 1,156.
Among the top producing US states, Oklahoma and North Dakota were up 1 unit each to 198 and 188 rigs working, respectively. Unchanged from last week were Wyoming, 52; California, 48; Arkansas, 35; West Virginia, 25; and Alaska, 6. Down 1 rig each were Pennsylvania and New Mexico with respective counts of 112 and 77. Louisiana was down 2 rigs to 156. Texas and Colorado, meanwhile, were down 4 units each to respective counts of 902 and 77.
Canada’s rig count was unchanged from a week ago at 484 rigs working, which was up 35 units from the same period last year.