North American Rotary Rig Counts

The U.S. rotary rig count from Baker Hughes was up 9 at 470 for the week of June 18, 2021. It is 204 rigs (76.7%) higher than last year.

The number of rotary rigs drilling for oil is up 8 at 373. There are 184 more rigs targeting oil than last year. Rigs drilling for oil are 78.7 percent of all drilling activity. 

Rigs targeting natural gas were up 1 at 97. The number of rigs drilling for gas is 22 higher than last year.

Unspecified or miscellaneous rig count is unchanged at 0 and is 2 lower last year.

Year-over-year oil exploration in the U.S. is up 97.4 percent. Gas exploration is up 29.3 percent. The weekly average of crude oil spot price is 86.4 percent higher than last year and natural gas spot prices are 98.2 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 24 at 117 for the week of June 18, 2021 and is 100 ( 588%) higher than last year. Rigs targeting oil were up 15 at 74 and are 69 ( 1380%) higher than last year. Gas directed rig count at 43 is up 9 for the week and is 31 (258%) 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
	06/18/2021	06/11/2021	06/19/2020	Weekly	Annual	Weekly	Annual
Total U.S.	470	461	266	9	204	2.0%	76.7%
Offshore	13	13	11	0	2	0.0%	18.2%
Land	457	448	255	9	202	2.0%	79.2%
Inland Waters	1	1	0	0	1	0.0%	n.a.
Oil	373	365	189	8	184	2.2%	97.4%
Percent	79.4%	79.2%	71.1%	0.2%	8.3%
Gas	97	96	75	1	22	1.0%	29.3%
Percent	20.6%	20.8%	28.2%	-0.2%	-7.6%
Miscellaneous	0	0	2	0	(2)
Percent	0.0%	0.0%	0.8%	0.0%	-0.8%
Directional	25	24	18	1	7	4.2%	38.9%
Horizontal	425	420	234	5	191	1.2%	81.6%
Vertical	20	17	14	3	6	17.6%	42.9%
Gulf of Mexico	13	13	11	0	2	0.0%	18.2%
Gulf Oil	13	13	11	0	2	0.0%	18.2%
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	117	93	17	24	100	25.8%	588.2%
Oil	74	59	5	15	69	25.4%	1380.0%
Percent	63.2%	63.4%	29.4%	-0.2%	33.8%
Gas	43	34	12	9	31	26.5%	258.3%
Percent	36.8%	36.6%	70.6%	0.2%	-33.8%
North America	587	554	283	33	304	6.0%	107.4%
Prices
Oil $/bbl.	$71.51	$70.09	$38.36	$1.42	$33.14	2.0%	86.4%
Oil $/mmbtu	$12.33	$12.08	$6.61	$0.24	$5.71	2.0%	86.4%
Gas $/mmbtu	$3.26	$3.16	$1.65	$0.11	$1.62	3.5%	98.2%

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.