US oil-directed rig count down 8

The number of drilling rigs working in the US and Canada fell by 13 the week ended Dec. 19, according to Baker Hughes.

In the US, 542 rigs were working, down 6 units from a week ago. The count is 47 units fewer than the 589 rigs working this time a year ago.

Rigs drilling on land in the US totaled 524, down 4 rigs from last week. Offshore units were down 2 to 15. The number of rigs drilling in inland waters was unchanged at 3.

There were 8 rigs drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, down 2 from last week.

All of the US count lost occurred in rigs drilling for oil, which fell by 8 week-over-week to 406, partially offset by an increase of 2 in miscellaneous rigs. The oil-focused rig count was down 77 from the same time last year.

The gas-directed rig count was unchanged week-to-week at 127, 25 more than the same period in 2024.

Among the major oil and gas-producing states, Louisiana saw the largest drop in rigs. With 42 rigs running, the count is 5 fewer than this time last week but 11 more than a year ago. New Mexico dropped 2 more units to end the week with 102 rigs working.

Texas gained 2 units for the second week in a row to finish with 230.

This increase in Texas came despite the Permian basin losing 3 rigs. The Haynesville rig count was also down by 3.

With 185 rigs running in Canada, 7 fewer rigs were working this week. In Canada, 119 rigs were drilling for oil, down 4 units from last week, while gas-directed rigs fell by 3 units to 66 rigs working.