A decrease in the US rig count is attributed to a double-digit decrease in oil-directed units. The US drilling rig count for the week ended May 19 was down 11 units to 720, according to Baker Hughes data. The overall count is down 8 units from this time a year ago.
The US oil-directed count fell by 11 during the week to 575 rigs working, down 1 from the year-ago level.
Natural gas-directed rigs were unchanged for the week at 141 rigs working, but down 9 year-over-year.
Onshore rigs decreased by 1 unit to 21, 3 more than this time last year. The count of rigs engaged in horizontal drilling fell by 10 to 650, down 14 from the year-ago level. Directional drilling rigs were down by 1 for the week to 51.
The offshore rig count fell by a single unit this week to 21 rigs working, up 3 from this time last year. Those drilling in inland waters were unchanged for the week at 2.
Among the major oil- and gas-producing states, Texas saw the largest drop in rigs. With a 9-unit decrease, the number of rigs working in the state fell to 357.
Also dropping rigs were Colorado, Louisiana, and California. With a 2-unit decrease, Colorado ended the week with 18 rigs working. Louisiana and California each dropped a single unit to reach respective counts of 56 and 2 rigs working this week.
New Mexico and Wyoming each gained a single unit to reach 109 and 15 rigs working, respectively.
Canada’s rig count saw a double-digit decrease this week. The rig count stands at 85 for the week ended May 19 after a 9-rig drop. An 11-unit decrease in gas-directed rigs to reach 46 working for the week was offset by a 2-unit increase in oil-directed rigs to 39.