North American Rotary Rig Counts

The U.S. rotary rig count from Baker Hughes was up 7 at 439 for the week of April 16, 2021. It is 90 rigs (17.0%) lower than last year.

The number of rotary rigs drilling for oil is up 7 at 344. There are 94 fewer rigs targeting oil than last year. Rigs drilling for oil are 78.4 percent of all drilling activity. 

Rigs targeting natural gas were up 1 at 94. The number of rigs drilling for gas is 5 higher than last year.

Unspecified or miscellaneous rig count is down 1 to 1 rig compared with 2 last year.

Year-over-year oil exploration in the U.S. is down 21.5 percent. Gas exploration is up 5.6 percent. The weekly average of crude oil spot price is 203.4 percent higher than last year and natural gas spot prices are 54.3 percent higher than last year. Daily crude oil and natural gas futures and spot prices are available on our site.

Canadian rig activity was down 2 at 56 for the week of April 16, 2021 and is 26 (86.7%) higher than last year. Rigs targeting oil were down 2 at 17 and are 10 (142.9%) higher than last year. Gas directed rig count at 39 is unchanged for the week and is 16 (69.6%) higher than 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
	04/16/2021	04/09/2021	04/17/2020	Weekly	Annual	Weekly	Annual
Total U.S.	439	432	529	7	(90)	1.6%	-17.0%
Offshore	12	11	17	1	(5)	9.1%	-29.4%
Land	427	421	512	6	(85)	1.4%	-16.6%
Inland Waters	1	0	0	1	1	n.a.	n.a.
Oil	344	337	438	7	(94)	2.1%	-21.5%
Percent	78.4%	78.0%	82.8%	0.4%	-4.4%
Gas	94	93	89	1	5	1.1%	5.6%
Percent	21.4%	21.5%	16.8%	-0.1%	4.6%
Miscellaneous	1	2	2	(1)	(1)
Percent	0.2%	0.5%	0.4%	-0.2%	-0.2%
Directional	20	18	28	2	-8	11.1%	-28.6%
Horizontal	398	394	483	4	-85	1.0%	-17.6%
Vertical	21	20	18	1	3	5.0%	16.7%
Gulf of Mexico	12	11	17	1	-5	9.1%	-29.4%
Gulf Oil	12	11	17	1	-5	9.1%	-29.4%
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	56	58	30	(2)	26	-3.4%	86.7%
Oil	17	19	7	(2)	10	-10.5%	142.9%
Percent	30.4%	32.8%	23.3%	-2.4%	7.0%
Gas	39	39	23	0	16	0.0%	69.6%
Percent	69.6%	67.2%	76.7%	2.4%	-7.0%
North America	495	490	559	5	(64)	1.0%	-11.4%
Prices
Oil $/bbl.	$61.01	$59.33	$20.11	$1.68	$40.90	2.8%	203.4%
Oil $/mmbtu	$10.52	$10.23	$3.47	$0.29	$7.05	2.8%	203.4%
Gas $/mmbtu	$2.60	$2.51	$1.68	$0.09	$0.91	3.6%	54.3%

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.