The US drilling rig count climbed 12 units to 768 during the week ended Mar. 10, according to Baker Hughes Inc. data. The count has now risen in 8 straight weeks, 6 of which have been double-digit increases. Since May 27, 2016, the final week of an extended drilling downturn, the count has added 364 units.
US oil-directed rigs, which represent more than 80% of the rigs to have come online since May 27, gained 8 units this week to 617, an increase of 301 units since May 27. Gas-directed rigs rose 5 units to 151, up 70 since Aug. 26 in their own rally. The country's only unclassified rig stopped operations.
Onshore rigs tallied 9 units to 743 as horizontal drilling rigs increased 6 units to 639, up 325 units since May 27. The offshore slump was somewhat eased by a 2-unit rise to 20. The count of rigs drilling in inland waters rose a unit to 5.
Among the major US operators contributing to the overall drilling rebound, Anadarko Petroleum Corp. this week reported 2017 plans reflecting its sharpened focus on the Permian Delaware and DJ basins after divesting several gas-weighted assets last year.
The firm plans to average 10-14 operated drilling rigs in the Delaware during the year and drill more than 150 operated midlateral-equivalent wells. In the DJ basin, Anadarko plans to average 5-6 operated rigs and drill 290 midlateral-equivalent wells.
The continued ramp up in rig deployment by operators in the Permian and other major oil regions has contributed to upward revisions in forecast US crude oil production. The US Energy Information Administration this week lifted its US crude output forecast for 2017 by 200,000 b/d to 9.2 million b/d.
