North American Rotary Rig Counts

The U.S. rotary rig count from Baker Hughes was down 5 at 654 for the week of August 11, 2023. It is 109 rigs (14.3%) lower than last year.

The number of rotary rigs drilling for oil is unchanged at 525. There are 76 fewer rigs targeting oil than last year. Rigs drilling for oil are 80.3 percent of all drilling activity. 

Rigs targeting natural gas were down 5 at 123. The number of rigs drilling for gas is 37 lower than last year.

Unspecified or miscellaneous rig count is unchanged at 6 and is 4 higher than last year.

Year-over-year oil exploration in the U.S. is down 12.6 percent. Gas exploration is down 23.1 percent. The weekly average of crude oil spot price is 9.6 percent lower than last year and natural gas spot prices are 66.5 percent lower 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 2 at 190 for the week of August 11, 2023 and is 11 (5.5%) lower than last year. Rigs targeting oil were down 2 at 116 and are 21 (15.3%) lower than last year. Gas directed rig count at 74 is up 4 for the week and is up 10 (15.6%) from last year. Miscellaneous rig count was unchanged at 0. Canadian drilling falls rapidly in the spring to avoid environmental damage from 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
	08/11/2023	08/04/2023	08/12/2022	Weekly	Annual	Weekly	Annual
Total U.S.	654	659	763	(5)	(109)	-0.8%	-14.3%
Offshore	18	19	18	(1)	0	-5.3%	0.0%
Land	636	640	745	(4)	(109)	-0.6%	-14.6%
Inland Waters	4	5	3	(1)	1	-20.0%	33.3%
Oil	525	525	601	0	(76)	0.0%	-12.6%
Percent	80.3%	79.7%	78.8%	0.6%	1.5%
Gas	123	128	160	(5)	(37)	-3.9%	-23.1%
Percent	18.8%	19.4%	21.0%	-0.6%	-2.2%
Miscellaneous	6	6	2	0	4
Percent	0.9%	0.9%	0.3%	0.0%	0.7%
Directional	53	53	39	0	14	0.0%	35.9%
Horizontal	579	585	693	-6	-114	-1.0%	-16.5%
Vertical	22	21	31	1	-9	4.8%	-29.0%
Gulf of Mexico	17	18	16	-1	1	-5.6%	6.3%
Gulf Oil	17	18	16	-1	1	-5.6%	6.3%
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	190	188	201	2	(11)	1.1%	-5.5%
Oil	116	118	137	(2)	(21)	-1.7%	-15.3%
Percent	61.1%	62.8%	68.2%	-1.7%	-7.1%
Gas	74	70	64	4	10	5.7%	15.6%
Percent	38.9%	37.2%	31.8%	1.7%	7.1%
North America	844	847	964	(3)	(120)	-0.4%	-12.4%
Prices
Oil $/bbl.	$83.05	$81.40	$91.92	$1.65	($8.87)	2.0%	-9.6%
Oil $/mmbtu	$14.32	$14.03	$15.85	$0.29	($1.53)	2.0%	-9.6%
Gas $/mmbtu	$2.73	$2.49	$8.15	$0.24	($5.42)	9.5%	-66.5%

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.