North American Rotary Rig Counts

The U.S. rotary rig count from Baker Hughes was up 5 at 402 for the week of February 26, 2021. It is 388 rigs (49.1%) lower than last year.

The number of rotary rigs drilling for oil is up 4 to 309. There are 369 fewer rigs targeting oil than last year. Rigs drilling for oil are 76.9 percent of all drilling activity. 

Rigs targeting natural gas were up 1 at 92. The number of rigs drilling for gas is 19 lower than last year.

Unspecified or miscellaneous rig count is unchanged at 1 rig compared with 2 last year.

Year-over-year oil exploration in the U.S. is down 54.4 percent. Gas exploration is down 16.4 percent. The weekly average of crude oil spot price is 28.7 percent higher than last year and natural gas spot prices are 62.2 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 9 at 163 for the week of February 26, 2021 and is 77 (32.1%) lower than last year. Rigs targeting oil were down 8 at 92 and are 71 (43.6%) lower than last year. Gas directed rig count at 71 is down 1 for the week and is 6 (7.8%) lower 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
	02/26/2021	02/19/2021	02/28/2020	Weekly	Annual	Weekly	Annual
Total U.S.	402	397	790	5	(388)	1.3%	-49.1%
Offshore	17	16	22	1	(5)	6.3%	-22.7%
Land	385	381	768	4	(383)	1.0%	-49.9%
Inland Waters	0	1	1	(1)	(1)	-100.0%	-100.0%
Oil	309	305	678	4	(369)	1.3%	-54.4%
Percent	76.9%	76.8%	85.8%	0.0%	-9.0%
Gas	92	91	110	1	(18)	1.1%	-16.4%
Percent	22.9%	22.9%	13.9%	-0.0%	9.0%
Miscellaneous	1	1	2	0	(1)
Percent	0.2%	0.3%	0.3%	-0.0%	-0.0%
Directional	18	16	46	2	-28	12.5%	-60.9%
Horizontal	359	357	708	2	-349	0.6%	-49.3%
Vertical	25	24	36	1	-11	4.2%	-30.6%
Gulf of Mexico	17	16	22	1	-5	6.3%	-22.7%
Gulf Oil	17	16	20	1	-3	6.3%	-15.0%
Percent	100.0%	100.0%	90.9%	0.0%	9.1%
Gulf Gas	0	0	2	0	-2	n.a.	-100.0%
Percent	0.0%	0.0%	9.1%	0.0%	-9.1%
Canada	163	172	240	(9)	(77)	-5.2%	-32.1%
Oil	92	100	163	(8)	(71)	-8.0%	-43.6%
Percent	56.4%	58.1%	67.9%	-1.7%	-11.5%
Gas	71	72	77	(1)	(6)	-1.4%	-7.8%
Percent	43.6%	41.9%	32.1%	1.7%	11.5%
North America	565	569	1,030	(4)	(465)	-0.7%	-45.1%
Prices
Oil $/bbl.	$62.19	$60.26	$48.34	$1.93	$13.86	3.2%	28.7%
Oil $/mmbtu	$10.72	$10.39	$8.33	$0.33	$2.39	3.2%	28.7%
Gas $/mmbtu	$2.90	$3.13	$1.79	($0.23)	$1.11	-7.3%	62.2%

Monthly: International Rig Counts

International rig count, which excludes the US and Canada, is down 4 to 665 for the month of December 2020 and is 439 rigs (39.8%) lower than last year's 1,104 rigs.

The number of rotary rigs targeting oil in December was 490 down 8 from November and is 334 (40.5%) lower than last year. International gas rigs were up 8 for the month at 144 and are 97 (40.2%) lower than last year. Miscellaneous or unclassified rigs at 31 are down 4 for the month and are 8 lower than last year.

International Rig Count					Change		Percent Change
		Dec-2020	Nov-2020	Dec-2019	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual
International	Oil	490	498	824	-8	-334	-1.6%	-40.5%
	Gas	144	136	241	8	-97	5.9%	-40.2%
	Misc.	31	35	39	-4	-8	-11.4%	-20.5%
	Total	665	669	1104	-4	-439	-0.6%	-39.8%
Europe	Oil	45	48	70	-3	-25	-6.3%	-35.7%
	Gas	39	39	60	0	-21	0.0%	-35.0%
	Misc.	13	15	9	-2	4	-13.3%	44.4%
	Total	97	102	139	-5	-42	-4.9%	-30.2%
Middle East	Oil	185	187	319	-2	-134	-1.1%	-42.0%
	Gas	57	51	106	6	-49	11.8%	-46.2%
	Misc.	0	1	5	-1	-5	-100.0%	-100.0%
	Total	242	239	430	3	-188	1.3%	-43.7%
Africa	Oil	42	49	99	-7	-57	-14.3%	-57.6%
	Gas	6	6	13	0	-7	0.0%	-53.8%
	Misc.	5	8	6	-3	-1	-37.5%	-16.7%
	Total	53	63	118	-10	-65	-15.9%	-55.1%
Latin America	Oil	95	89	173	6	-78	6.7%	-45.1%
	Gas	14	12	17	2	-3	16.7%	-17.6%
	Misc.	0	0	1	0	-1	N.A.	-100.0%
	Total	109	101	191	8	-82	7.9%	-42.9%
Asian Pacific	Oil	123	125	163	-2	-40	-1.6%	-24.5%
	Gas	28	28	45	0	-17	0.0%	-37.8%
	Misc.	13	11	18	2	-5	18.2%	-27.8%
	Total	164	164	226	0	-62	0.0%	-27.4%

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.