North American Rotary Rig Counts

The U.S. rotary rig count from Baker Hughes was unchanged at 771 for the week of January 27, 2023. It is 161 rigs (26.4%) higher than last year.

The number of rotary rigs drilling for oil is down 4 at 609. There are 114 more rigs targeting oil than last year. Rigs drilling for oil are 79.0% percent of all drilling activity. 

Rigs targeting natural gas were up 4 at 160. The number of rigs drilling for gas is 45 higher than last year.

Unspecified or miscellaneous rig count is unchanged at 2 and is the same as last year.

Year-over-year oil exploration in the U.S. is up 23.0 percent. Gas exploration is up 39.1 percent. The weekly average of crude oil spot price is 6.3 percent lower than last year and natural gas spot prices are 34.2 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 6 at 247 for the week of January 27, 2023 and is 30 (13.8%) higher than last year. Rigs targeting oil were up 4 at 157 and are 22 (16.3%) higher than last year. Gas directed rig count at 90 is up 2 for the week and is 8 (9.8%) higher than 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
	01/27/2023	01/20/2023	01/28/2022	Weekly	Annual	Weekly	Annual
Total U.S.	771	771	610	0	161	0.0%	26.4%
Offshore	13	16	18	(3)	(5)	-18.8%	-27.8%
Land	758	755	592	3	166	0.4%	28.0%
Inland Waters	2	2	2	0	0	0.0%	0.0%
Oil	609	613	495	(4)	114	-0.7%	23.0%
Percent	79.0%	79.5%	81.1%	-0.5%	-2.2%
Gas	160	156	115	4	45	2.6%	39.1%
Percent	20.8%	20.2%	18.9%	0.5%	1.9%
Miscellaneous	2	2	0	0	2
Percent	0.3%	0.3%	0.0%	0.0%	0.3%
Directional	45	49	36	-4	9	-8.2%	25.0%
Horizontal	705	700	553	5	152	0.7%	27.5%
Vertical	21	22	21	-1	0	-4.5%	0.0%
Gulf of Mexico	13	16	18	-3	-5	-18.8%	-27.8%
Gulf Oil	13	16	18	-3	-5	-18.8%	-27.8%
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	247	241	217	6	30	2.5%	13.8%
Oil	157	153	135	4	22	2.6%	16.3%
Percent	63.6%	63.5%	62.2%	0.1%	1.4%
Gas	90	88	82	2	8	2.3%	9.8%
Percent	36.4%	36.5%	37.8%	-0.1%	-1.4%
North America	1,018	1,012	827	6	191	0.6%	23.1%
Prices
Oil $/bbl.	$80.52	$80.41	$85.94	$0.11	($5.42)	0.1%	-6.3%
Oil $/mmbtu	$13.88	$13.86	$14.82	$0.02	($0.93)	0.1%	-6.3%
Gas $/mmbtu	$3.06	$3.34	$4.65	($0.27)	($1.59)	-8.2%	-34.2%

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.