North American Rotary Rig Counts

The U.S. rotary rig count from Baker Hughes was up 9 to 512 for the week of September 17, 2021. It is 257 rigs (100%) higher than last year.

The number of rotary rigs drilling for oil is up 10 to 411. There are 232 more rigs targeting oil than last year. Rigs drilling for oil are 80.3 percent of all drilling activity. 

Rigs targeting natural gas were down 1 at 100. The number of rigs drilling for gas is 27 higher than last year.

Unspecified or miscellaneous rig count is unchanged at 1 and is 2 lower last year.

Year-over-year oil exploration in the U.S. is up 130 percent. Gas exploration is up 37 percent. The weekly average of crude oil spot price is 81 percent higher than last year and natural gas spot prices are 138 percent higher than last year. See Oil Futures Price Goes Negative.

 Daily crude oil and natural gas futures and spot prices are available on our site.

Canadian rig activity was up 11 at 154 for the week of September 17, 2021 and is 90 (141%) higher than last year. Rigs targeting oil were up 8 at 95 and are 65 (217%) higher than last year. Gas directed rig count at 59 is up 4 for the week and is 25 (74%) higher than last year. Miscellaneous rig count was unchanged at 0 and unchanged from last year. Canadian drilling falls rapidly in the spring to avoid environmental damage moving drilling equipment during the spring thaw and rainy season. With large weather related seasonal swings, even year-over-year comparisons can lead to incorrect conclusions. Also, Canadians seem to take their holidays more serious than their counterparts in the U.S. and rig count usually drops near holidays.

North American Rig Count				Change		Percent Change
	09/17/2021	09/10/2021	09/18/2020	Weekly	Annual	Weekly	Annual
Total U.S.	512	503	255	9	257	1.8%	100.8%
Offshore	6	6	14	0	(8)	0.0%	-57.1%
Land	506	497	241	9	265	1.8%	110.0%
Inland Waters	1	0	1	1	0	n.a.	0.0%
Oil	411	401	179	10	232	2.5%	129.6%
Percent	80.3%	79.7%	70.2%	0.6%	10.1%
Gas	100	101	73	(1)	27	-1.0%	37.0%
Percent	19.5%	20.1%	28.6%	-0.5%	-9.1%
Miscellaneous	1	1	3	0	(2)
Percent	0.2%	0.2%	1.2%	-0.0%	-1.0%
Directional	17	16	23	1	-6	6.3%	-26.1%
Horizontal	466	461	215	5	251	1.1%	116.7%
Vertical	29	26	17	3	12	11.5%	70.6%
Gulf of Mexico	4	4	14	0	-10	0.0%	-71.4%
Gulf Oil	4	4	14	0	-10	0.0%	-71.4%
Percent	100.0%	100.0%	100.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Gulf Gas	0	0	0	0	0	n.a.	n.a.
Percent	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%	0.0%
Canada	154	143	64	11	90	7.7%	140.6%
Oil	95	87	30	8	65	9.2%	216.7%
Percent	61.7%	60.8%	46.9%	0.8%	14.8%
Gas	59	56	34	3	25	5.4%	73.5%
Percent	38.3%	39.2%	53.1%	-0.8%	-14.8%
North America	666	646	319	20	347	3.1%	108.8%
Prices
Oil $/bbl.	$71.66	$68.90	$39.55	$2.76	$32.10	4.0%	81.2%
Oil $/mmbtu	$12.35	$11.88	$6.82	$0.48	$5.54	4.0%	81.2%
Gas $/mmbtu	$5.25	$4.87	$2.21	$0.38	$3.05	7.9%	138.0%

Monthly: International Rig Counts

International rig count, which excludes the US and Canada, is up 14 to 715 for the month of March 2021 and is 344 rigs (32.5%) lower than last year's 1,059 rigs.

The number of rotary rigs targeting oil in December was 535 unchanged from February and is 240 (31.0%) lower than last year. International gas rigs were up 7 for the month at 145 and are 77 (34.7%) lower than last year. Miscellaneous or unclassified rigs at 35 are up 7 for the month and are 27 (43.5%) lower than last year.

International Rig Count					Change		Percent Change
		Mar-2021	Feb-2021	Mar-2020	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual
International	Oil	535	535	775	0	-240	0.0%	-31.0%
	Gas	145	138	222	7	-77	5.1%	-34.7%
	Misc.	35	28	62	7	-27	25.0%	-43.5%
	Total	715	701	1059	14	-344	2.0%	-32.5%
Europe	Oil	44	48	60	-4	-16	-8.3%	-26.7%
	Gas	40	37	55	3	-15	8.1%	-27.3%
	Misc.	16	13	8	3	8	23.1%	100.0%
	Total	100	98	123	2	-23	2.0%	-18.7%
Middle East	Oil	201	204	304	-3	-103	-1.5%	-33.9%
	Gas	59	56	94	3	-35	5.4%	-37.2%
	Misc.	1	0	30	1	-29	N.A.	-96.7%
	Total	261	260	428	1	-167	0.4%	-39.0%
Africa	Oil	49	47	88	2	-39	4.3%	-44.3%
	Gas	5	5	14	0	-9	0.0%	-64.3%
	Misc.	5	5	6	0	-1	0.0%	-16.7%
	Total	59	57	108	2	-49	3.5%	-45.4%
Latin America	Oil	108	108	156	0	-48	0.0%	-30.8%
	Gas	16	17	13	-1	3	-5.9%	23.1%
	Misc.	1	0	0	1	1	N.A.	N.A.
	Total	125	125	169	0	-44	0.0%	-26.0%
Asian Pacific	Oil	133	128	167	5	-34	3.9%	-20.4%
	Gas	25	23	46	2	-21	8.7%	-45.7%
	Misc.	12	10	18	2	-6	20.0%	-33.3%
	Total	170	161	231	9	-61	5.6%	-26.4%

The Rig Count page will be updated as the data becomes available. US rotary and Canadian rig counts are updated weekly.  International, world and workover rig counts are updated mid month.  The oil price shown in all long term graphs and all but the short term graph of US and Canadian rotary rig counts is US average wellhead price. The price in the short term US and Canadian rotary rig count graphs is WTI spot.