North American Rotary Rig Counts
The U.S. rotary
rig count from Baker Hughes was up 7 at 439 for the week of April 16,
2021.
It is 90 rigs (17.0%) lower than last year.
The number of
rotary rigs drilling for oil is up 7 at 344. There are 94 fewer
rigs
targeting oil than last year. Rigs drilling for oil are 78.4 percent of all drilling
activity.
Rigs targeting
natural gas were up 1 at 94. The number of rigs drilling
for
gas
is 5 higher than last year.
Unspecified or
miscellaneous rig count is down 1 to 1 rig compared with 2 last
year.
Year-over-year
oil exploration in the U.S. is down 21.5 percent. Gas exploration
is up 5.6 percent. The weekly average of crude oil spot price is 203.4 percent higher than last year and natural gas spot
prices are 54.3 percent
higher than last year. Daily crude oil and natural gas futures and spot
prices are available on our site.
Canadian rig activity was down 2 at
56
for the week of April 16, 2021
and is 26 (86.7%) higher
than last year. Rigs
targeting oil were down 2
at 17
and are 10 (142.9%) higher than last year. Gas directed rig count
at 39 is unchanged for the week and is 16 (69.6%) 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 usually drops near holidays.
North American Rig Count
|
Change
|
Percent Change |
|
04/16/2021 |
04/09/2021 |
04/17/2020 |
Weekly |
Annual |
Weekly |
Annual |
Total
U.S. |
439 |
432 |
529 |
7 |
(90) |
1.6% |
-17.0% |
Offshore |
12 |
11 |
17 |
1 |
(5)
|
9.1% |
-29.4% |
Land |
427
|
421
|
512
|
6 |
(85) |
1.4% |
-16.6% |
Inland Waters |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
n.a. |
n.a. |
Oil
|
344 |
337 |
438 |
7 |
(94) |
2.1% |
-21.5% |
Percent
|
78.4% |
78.0% |
82.8% |
0.4% |
-4.4% |
|
|
Gas
|
94 |
93 |
89 |
1 |
5 |
1.1% |
5.6% |
Percent
|
21.4% |
21.5% |
16.8% |
-0.1% |
4.6% |
|
|
Miscellaneous |
1 |
2 |
2 |
(1)
|
(1)
|
|
|
Percent |
0.2% |
0.5% |
0.4% |
-0.2% |
-0.2% |
|
|
Directional
|
20 |
18 |
28 |
2 |
-8 |
11.1% |
-28.6% |
Horizontal
|
398 |
394 |
483 |
4 |
-85 |
1.0% |
-17.6% |
Vertical
|
21 |
20 |
18 |
1 |
3 |
5.0% |
16.7% |
Gulf
of Mexico |
12 |
11 |
17 |
1 |
-5 |
9.1% |
-29.4% |
Gulf
Oil |
12 |
11 |
17 |
1 |
-5 |
9.1% |
-29.4% |
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
|
56 |
58 |
30 |
(2) |
26 |
-3.4% |
86.7% |
Oil
|
17 |
19 |
7 |
(2) |
10 |
-10.5% |
142.9% |
Percent
|
30.4% |
32.8% |
23.3% |
-2.4% |
7.0% |
|
|
Gas
|
39 |
39 |
23 |
0 |
16 |
0.0% |
69.6% |
Percent
|
69.6% |
67.2% |
76.7% |
2.4% |
-7.0% |
|
|
North
America |
495 |
490 |
559 |
5 |
(64) |
1.0% |
-11.4% |
Prices |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Oil
$/bbl. |
$61.01 |
$59.33 |
$20.11 |
$1.68 |
$40.90 |
2.8% |
203.4% |
Oil
$/mmbtu |
$10.52 |
$10.23 |
$3.47 |
$0.29 |
$7.05 |
2.8% |
203.4% |
Gas
$/mmbtu |
$2.60 |
$2.51 |
$1.68 |
$0.09 |
$0.91 |
3.6% |
54.3% |
Monthly: International Rig Counts