North American Rotary Rig Counts

The U.S. rotary rig count from Baker Hughes was up 12 at 372 for the week of January 15, 2021. It is 423 rigs (53.1%) lower than last year.

The number of rotary rigs drilling for oil is up 12 to 287. There are 386 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 85. The number of rigs drilling for gas is 35 lower than last year.

Unspecified or miscellaneous rig count is unchanged at 1 rig compared with 3 last year.

Year-over-year oil exploration in the U.S. is down 57.4 percent. Gas exploration is down 29.2 percent. The weekly average of crude oil spot price is 9.1 percent lower than last year and natural gas spot prices are 29.3 percent higher than last year. Daily crude oil and natural gas futures and spot prices are available on our site.

Canadian rig activity was up 44 at 63 for the week of January 15, 2021 and is 83 (34.0%) lower than last year. Rigs targeting oil were up 37 at 90 and are 62 (40.8%) lower than last year. Gas directed rig count at 71 is up 7 for the week and is 21 (22.8%) 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
	01/15/2021	01/08/2021	01/17/2020	Weekly	Annual	Weekly	Annual
Total U.S.	373	360	796	13	(423)	3.6%	-53.1%
Offshore	16	17	20	(1)	(4)	-5.9%	-20.0%
Land	357	343	776	14	(419)	4.1%	-54.0%
Inland Waters	3	2	1	1	2	50.0%	200.0%
Oil	287	275	673	12	(386)	4.4%	-57.4%
Percent	76.9%	76.4%	84.5%	0.6%	-7.6%
Gas	85	84	120	1	(35)	1.2%	-29.2%
Percent	22.8%	23.3%	15.1%	-0.5%	7.7%
Miscellaneous	1	1	3	0	(2)
Percent	0.3%	0.3%	0.4%	-0.0%	-0.1%
Directional	22	22	44	0	-22	0.0%	-50.0%
Horizontal	332	320	709	12	-377	3.8%	-53.2%
Vertical	19	18	43	1	-24	5.6%	-55.8%
Gulf of Mexico	16	17	20	-1	-4	-5.9%	-20.0%
Gulf Oil	16	17	19	-1	-3	-5.9%	-15.8%
Percent	100.0%	100.0%	95.0%	0.0%	5.0%
Gulf Gas	0	0	1	0	-1	n.a.	-100.0%
Percent	0.0%	0.0%	5.0%	0.0%	-5.0%
Canada	161	117	244	44	(83)	37.6%	-34.0%
Oil	90	53	152	37	(62)	69.8%	-40.8%
Percent	55.9%	45.3%	62.3%	10.6%	-6.4%
Gas	71	64	92	7	(21)	10.9%	-22.8%
Percent	44.1%	54.7%	37.7%	-10.6%	6.4%
North America	534	477	1,040	57	(506)	11.9%	-48.7%
Prices
Oil $/bbl.	$52.99	$50.35	$58.26	$2.64	($5.28)	5.2%	-9.1%
Oil $/mmbtu	$9.14	$8.68	$10.05	$0.45	($0.91)	5.2%	-9.1%
Gas $/mmbtu	$2.73	$2.68	$2.11	$0.06	$0.62	2.1%	29.3%

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.