North American Rotary Rig Counts

The U.S. rotary rig count from Baker Hughes was up 15 at 796 for the week of January 17, 2020. It is 254 rigs (24.2%) lower than last year.

The number of rotary rigs drilling for oil is up 14 to 673. There are 179 fewer rigs targeting oil than last year. Rigs drilling for oil are 84.5 percent of all drilling activity. 

Rigs targeting natural gas were up 1  at 120. The number of rigs drilling for gas is 78 lower than last year.

Year-over-year oil exploration in the U.S. is down 21.0 percent. Gas exploration is down 39.4 percent. The weekly average of crude oil spot price is 17.7 percent higher than last year and natural gas spot prices are 37.1 percent lower than last year. Daily crude oil and natural gas futures and spot prices are available on our site.

Canadian rig activity was up 41 at 244 for the week of January 17, 2020 and is 35 (16.7%) higher than last year. Rigs targeting oil were up 32 at 152 and are 24 (18.8%) higher than last year. Gas directed rig count at 92 is up 9 for the week and is 11 rigs (13.6%) 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 drops.

North American Rig Count				Change		Percent Change
	01/17/2020	01/10/2020	01/18/2019	Weekly	Annual	Weekly	Annual
Total U.S.	796	781	1,050	15	(254)	1.9%	-24.2%
Offshore	20	21	19	(1)	1	-4.8%	5.3%
Land	776	760	1,031	16	(255)	2.1%	-24.7%
Inland Waters	1	1	2	0	(1)	0.0%	-50.0%
Oil	673	659	852	14	(179)	2.1%	-21.0%
Percent	84.5%	84.4%	81.1%	0.2%	3.4%
Gas	120	119	198	1	(78)	0.8%	-39.4%
Percent	15.1%	15.2%	18.9%	-0.2%	-3.8%
Miscellaneous	3	3	0	0	3
Percent	0.4%	0.4%	0.0%	-0.0%	0.4%
Directional	44	45	55	-1	-11	-2.2%	-20.0%
Horizontal	709	698	929	11	-220	1.6%	-23.7%
Vertical	43	38	66	5	-23	13.2%	-34.8%
Gulf of Mexico	20	21	19	-1	1	-4.8%	5.3%
Gulf Oil	19	20	15	-1	4	-5.0%	26.7%
Percent	95.0%	95.2%	78.9%	-0.2%	16.1%
Gulf Gas	1	1	4	0	-3	0.0%	-75.0%
Percent	5.0%	4.8%	21.1%	0.2%	-16.1%
Canada	244	203	209	41	35	20.2%	16.7%
Oil	152	120	128	32	24	26.7%	18.8%
Percent	62.3%	59.1%	61.2%	3.2%	1.1%
Gas	92	83	81	9	11	10.8%	13.6%
Percent	37.7%	40.9%	38.8%	-3.2%	-1.1%
North America	1,040	984	1,259	56	(219)	5.7%	-17.4%
Prices
Oil $/bbl.	$58.21	$60.82	$52.14	($2.61)	$6.07	-4.3%	11.7%
Oil $/mmbtu	$10.04	$10.49	$8.99	($0.45)	$1.05	-4.3%	11.7%
Gas $/mmbtu	$2.18	$2.16	$3.47	$0.02	($1.29)	1.0%	-37.1%

Monthly: International Rig Counts

International rig count, which excludes the US and Canada, is up 12 to 1,039 for the month of March 2019 and is 67 rigs (6.9%) higher than last year's 972 rigs.

The number of rotary rigs targeting oil in March was 824 up 7 from February and is 71 (9.4%) higher than last year. International gas rigs were up 2 for the month at 187 and are 1 higher than last year. Miscellaneous or unclassified rigs at 28 are up 3 for the month and are 5 lower than last year.

International Rig Count					Monthly		Annual
		Mar-2019	Feb-2019	Mar-2018	Change	Percent	Change	Percent
Total	Oil	824	817	753	7	0.9%	71	9.4%
	Gas	187	185	186	2	1.1%	1	0.5%
	Misc	28	25	33	3	12.0%	-5	-15.2%
	Total	1039	1027	972	12	1.2%	67	6.9%
Europe	Oil	65	64	55	1	1.6%	10	18.2%
	Gas	18	19	16	-1	-5.3%	2	12.5%
	Mis	12	11	18	1	9.1%	-6	-33.3%
	Total	95	94	89	1	1.1%	6	6.7%
Middle East	Oil	309	317	301	-8	-2.5%	8	2.7%
	Gas	86	81	96	5	6.2%	-10	-10.4%
	Mis	0	0	0	0	N.A.	0	N.A.
	Total	395	398	397	-3	-0.8%	-2	-0.5%
Africa	Oil	104	91	67	13	14.3%	37	55.2%
	Gas	14	14	15	0	0.0%	-1	-6.7%
	Mis	9	8	7	1	12.5%	2	28.6%
	Total	127	113	89	14	12.4%	38	42.7%
Latin America	Oil	166	162	175	4	2.5%	-9	-5.1%
	Gas	22	20	18	2	10.0%	4	22.2%
	Mis	0	0	0	0	N.A.	0	N.A.
	Total	188	182	193	6	3.3%	-5	-2.6%
Asia Pacific	Oil	180	183	155	-3	-1.6%	25	16.1%
	Gas	47	51	41	-4	-7.8%	6	14.6%
	Mis	7	6	8	1	16.7%	-1	-12.5%
	Total	234	240	204	-6	-2.5%	30	14.7%

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.