North American Rotary Rig Counts

The U.S. rotary rig count from Baker Hughes was up 10 to 543 for the week of October 15, 2021. It is 261 rigs (92.6%) higher than last year.

The number of rotary rigs drilling for oil is up 12 to 445. There are 240 more rigs targeting oil than last year. Rigs drilling for oil are 82.0 percent of all drilling activity. 

Rigs targeting natural gas were down 1 at 98. The number of rigs drilling for gas is 24 higher than last year.

Unspecified or miscellaneous rig count is down 1 to 0 and is 3 lower last year.

Year-over-year oil exploration in the U.S. is up 117 percent. Gas exploration is up 32 percent. The weekly average of crude oil spot price is 99 percent higher than last year and natural gas spot prices are 97 percent higher 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 1 at 168 for the week of October 15, 2021 and is 88 (110%) higher than last year. Rigs targeting oil were up 3 at 98 and are 58 (145%) higher than last year. Gas directed rig count at 70 is down 2 for the week and is 30 (75%) higher than last year. Miscellaneous rig count was unchanged at 0. 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
	10/15/2021	10/08/2021	10/16/2020	Weekly	Annual	Weekly	Annual
Total U.S.	543	533	282	10	261	1.9%	92.6%
Offshore	12	11	14	1	(2)	9.1%	-14.3%
Land	531	522	268	9	263	1.7%	98.1%
Inland Waters	2	2	1	0	1	0.0%	100.0%
Oil	445	433	205	12	240	2.8%	117.1%
Percent	82.0%	81.2%	72.7%	0.7%	9.3%
Gas	98	99	74	(1)	24	-1.0%	32.4%
Percent	18.0%	18.6%	26.2%	-0.5%	-8.2%
Miscellaneous	0	1	3	(1)	(3)
Percent	0.0%	0.2%	1.1%	-0.2%	-1.1%
Directional	32	22	21	10	11	45.5%	52.4%
Horizontal	481	483	240	-2	241	-0.4%	100.4%
Vertical	30	28	21	2	9	7.1%	42.9%
Gulf of Mexico	12	10	14	2	-2	20.0%	-14.3%
Gulf Oil	12	10	14	2	-2	20.0%	-14.3%
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	168	167	80	1	88	0.6%	110.0%
Oil	98	95	40	3	58	3.2%	145.0%
Percent	58.3%	56.9%	50.0%	1.4%	8.3%
Gas	70	72	40	(2)	30	-2.8%	75.0%
Percent	41.7%	43.1%	50.0%	-1.4%	-8.3%
North America	711	700	362	11	349	1.6%	96.4%
Prices
Oil $/bbl.	$80.53	$78.33	$40.48	$2.21	$40.06	2.8%	99.0%
Oil $/mmbtu	$13.89	$13.50	$6.98	$0.38	$6.91	2.8%	99.0%
Gas $/mmbtu	$5.48	$5.80	$2.78	($0.32)	$2.70	-5.5%	96.8%

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.