North American Rotary Rig Counts

The U.S. rotary rig count from Baker Hughes was up 5 at 1,008 for the week of April 13, 2018. It is 161 rigs (19.0%) higher than last year.

The number of rotary rigs drilling for oil was up 7 at 815. There are 132 more rigs targeting oil than last year. Rigs drilling for oil are 80.9 percent of all drilling activity. 

Rigs targeting natural gas were down 2 at 192. The number of rigs drilling for gas is 30 higher than last year's level of 162.

Year-over-year oil exploration in the U.S. is up 19.3 percent. Gas exploration is up 18.5 percent. The weekly average of crude oil spot price is 24.2 percent higher last year and natural gas spot prices are 11.0 percent lower than last year. Daily crude oil and natural gas futures and spot prices are available on our site.

Canadian rig activity was down 9 at 102 for the week of April 13, 2018 and is 16 (13.6%) lower than last year. Rigs targeting oil were down 7 at 41 and are 1 (2.5%) higher than last year. Gas directed rig count at 61 was down 2 and is 17 rigs (21.8%) 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 take their holidays more serious than their counterparts in the U.S.

North American Rig Count				Change		Percent Change
	04/13/2018	04/06/2018	04/14/2017	Weekly	Annual	Weekly	Annual
Total U.S.	1,008	1,003	847	5	161	0.5%	19.0%
Offshore	16	12	21	4	(5)	33.3%	-23.8%
Land	992	991	826	1	166	0.1%	20.1%
Inland Waters	4	4	3	0	1	0.0%	33.3%
Oil	815	808	683	7	132	0.9%	19.3%
Percent	80.9%	80.6%	80.6%	0.3%	0.2%
Gas	192	194	162	(2)	30	-1.0%	18.5%
Percent	19.0%	19.3%	19.1%	-0.3%	-0.1%
Directional	70	63	64	7	6	11.1%	9.4%
Horizontal	883	884	706	-1	177	-0.1%	25.1%
Vertical	55	56	77	-1	-22	-1.8%	-28.6%
Gulf of Mexico	16	12	21	4	-5	33.3%	-23.8%
Gulf Oil	15	12	19	3	-4	25.0%	-21.1%
Percent	93.8%	100.0%	90.5%	-6.3%	3.3%
Gulf Gas	1	0	2	1	-1	n.a.	-50.0%
Percent	6.3%	0.0%	9.5%	6.3%	-3.3%
Canada	102	111	118	(9)	(16)	-8.1%	-13.6%
Oil	41	48	40	(7)	1	-14.6%	2.5%
Percent	40.2%	43.2%	33.9%	-3.0%	6.3%
Gas	61	63	78	(2)	(17)	-3.2%	-21.8%
Percent	59.8%	56.8%	66.1%	3.0%	-6.3%
North America	1,110	1,114	965	(4)	145	-0.4%	15.0%
Prices
Oil $/bbl.	$66.03	$63.10	$53.19	$2.93	$12.85	4.7%	24.2%
Oil $/mmbtu	$11.38	$10.88	$9.17	$0.51	$2.21	4.7%	24.2%
Gas $/mmbtu	$2.71	$2.75	$3.05	($0.03)	($0.34)	-1.2%	-11.0%

Monthly: International Rig Counts

International rig count, which excludes the US and Canada, was down 9 to 942 for the month of November 2017 and is 17 rigs (1.8%) higher than last year's 925 rigs.

The total number of rotary rigs targeting oil in November was 720, up 7 from October and 39 (5.7%) higher than last year. International gas rigs were down 11 for the month at 186 and 7 (3.6%) lower than last year. Miscellaneous or unclassified rigs at 36 are down 15 from last year.

International Rig Count					Monthly		Annual
		Nov-2017	Oct-2017	Nov-2016	Change	Percent	Change	Percent
Total	Oil	720	713	681	7	1.0%	39	5.7%
	Gas	186	197	193	-11	-5.6%	-7	-3.6%
	Misc	36	41	51	-5	-12.2%	-15	-29.4%
	Total	942	951	925	-9	-0.9%	17	1.8%
Europe	Oil	52	53	44	-1	-1.9%	8	18.2%
	Gas	15	16	19	-1	-6.3%	-4	-21.1%
	Mis	18	22	34	-4	-18.2%	-16	-47.1%
	Total	85	91	97	-6	-6.6%	-12	-12.4%
Middle East	Oil	290	287	288	3	1.0%	2	0.7%
	Gas	88	97	92	-9	-9.3%	-4	-4.3%
	Mis	0	1	0	-1	-100.0%	0	N.A.
	Total	378	385	380	-7	-1.8%	-2	-0.5%
Africa	Oil	59	59	49	0	0.0%	10	20.4%
	Gas	19	18	19	1	5.6%	0	0.0%
	Mis	7	8	11	-1	-12.5%	-4	-36.4%
	Total	85	85	79	0	0.0%	6	7.6%
Latin America	Oil	159	156	162	3	1.9%	-3	-1.9%
	Gas	21	20	19	1	5.0%	2	10.5%
	Mis	1	1	0	0	0.0%	1	N.A.
	Total	181	177	181	4	2.3%	0	0.0%
Asia Pacific	Oil	160	158	138	2	1.3%	22	15.9%
	Gas	43	46	44	-3	-6.5%	-1	-2.3%
	Mis	10	9	6	1	11.1%	4	66.7%
	Total	213	213	188	0	0.0%	25	13.3%

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.