North American Rotary Rig Counts

The U.S. rotary rig count from Baker Hughes was up 5 at 287 for the week of October 23, 2020. It is 543 rigs (65.4%) lower than last year.

The number of rotary rigs drilling for oil is up 6 to 213. There are 535 fewer rigs targeting oil than last year. Rigs drilling for oil are 73.5 percent of all drilling activity. 

Rigs targeting natural gas were down 1 at 73. The number of rigs drilling for gas is 60 lower than last year.

Unspecified or miscellaneous rig count is unchanged at 3 rigs compared with 1 last year.

Year-over-year oil exploration in the U.S. is down 69.7 percent. Gas exploration is down 45.1 percent. The weekly average of crude oil spot price is 26.4 percent lower than last year and natural gas spot prices are 28.4 percent higher than last year. Daily crude oil and natural gas futures and spot prices are available on our site.

Canadian rig activity was up 3 at 83 for the week of October 23, 2020 and is 64 (43.5%) lower than last year. Rigs targeting oil were up 2 at 42 and are 60 (58.8%) lower than last year. Gas directed rig count at 41 is up 1 for the week and is 54 rigs (8.9%) 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 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
	10/23/2020	10/16/2020	10/25/2019	Weekly	Annual	Weekly	Annual
Total U.S.	287	282	830	5	(543)	1.8%	-65.4%
Offshore	13	14	21	(1)	(8)	-7.1%	-38.1%
Land	274	268	809	6	(535)	2.2%	-66.1%
Inland Waters	1	1	2	0	(1)	0.0%	-50.0%
Oil	211	205	696	6	(485)	2.9%	-69.7%
Percent	73.5%	72.7%	83.9%	0.8%	-10.3%
Gas	73	74	133	(1)	(60)	-1.4%	-45.1%
Percent	25.4%	26.2%	16.0%	-0.8%	9.4%
Miscellaneous	3	3	1	0	2
Percent	1.0%	1.1%	0.1%	-0.0%	0.9%
Directional	21	21	51	0	-30	0.0%	-58.8%
Horizontal	245	240	728	5	-483	2.1%	-66.3%
Vertical	21	21	51	0	-30	0.0%	-58.8%
Gulf of Mexico	13	14	20	-1	-7	-7.1%	-35.0%
Gulf Oil	13	14	19	-1	-6	-7.1%	-31.6%
Percent	100.0%	100.0%	95.0%	0.0%	5.0%
Gulf Gas	0	0	1	0	-1	n.a.	-100.0%
Percent	0.0%	0.0%	5.0%	0.0%	-5.0%
Canada	83	80	147	3	(64)	3.8%	-43.5%
Oil	42	40	102	2	(60)	5.0%	-58.8%
Percent	50.6%	50.0%	69.4%	0.6%	-18.8%
Gas	41	40	45	1	(4)	2.5%	-8.9%
Percent	49.4%	50.0%	30.6%	-0.6%	18.8%
North America	370	362	977	8	(607)	2.2%	-62.1%
Prices
Oil $/bbl.	$40.80	$40.48	$55.31	$0.32	($14.51)	0.8%	-26.2%
Oil $/mmbtu	$7.03	$6.98	$9.54	$0.06	($2.50)	0.8%	-26.2%
Gas $/mmbtu	$2.93	$2.78	$2.28	$0.15	$0.65	5.3%	28.4%

Monthly: International Rig Counts

International rig count, which excludes the US and Canada, is up 4 to 747 for the month of August 2020 and is 391 rigs (34.4%) lower than last year's 1,138 rigs.

The number of rotary rigs targeting oil in August was 556 up 21 from July and is 271 (32.8%) lower than last year. International gas rigs were down 7 for the month at 164 and are 116 (41.4%) lower than last year. Miscellaneous or unclassified rigs at 27 are down 10 for the month and are 4 lower than last year. Most of these are likely oil rigs.

International Rig Count					Change		Percent Change
		August 2020	July 2020	August 2019	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual
International	Oil	556	535	827	21	-271	3.9%	-32.8%
	Gas	164	171	280	-7	-116	-4.1%	-41.4%
	Misc.	27	37	31	-10	-4	-27.0%	-12.9%
	Total	747	743	1138	4	-391	0.5%	-34.4%
Europe	Oil	46	45	76	1	-30	2.2%	-39.5%
	Gas	51	51	105	0	-54	0.0%	-51.4%
	Misc.	12	9	12	3	0	33.3%	0.0%
	Total	109	105	193	4	-84	3.8%	-43.5%
Middle East	Oil	235	228	322	7	-87	3.1%	-27.0%
	Gas	66	75	94	-9	-28	-12.0%	-29.8%
	Misc.	0	12	0	-12	0	-100.0%	N.A.
	Total	301	315	416	-14	-115	-4.4%	-27.6%
Africa	Oil	48	43	96	5	-48	11.6%	-50.0%
	Gas	9	9	11	0	-2	0.0%	-18.2%
	Misc.	5	4	8	1	-3	25.0%	-37.5%
	Total	62	56	115	6	-53	10.7%	-46.1%
Latin America	Oil	70	69	170	1	-100	1.4%	-58.8%
	Gas	5	5	23	0	-18	0.0%	-78.3%
	Misc.	0	0	1	0	-1	N.A.	-100.0%
	Total	75	74	194	1	-119	1.4%	-61.3%
Asian Pacific	Oil	157	150	163	7	-6	4.7%	-3.7%
	Gas	33	31	47	2	-14	6.5%	-29.8%
	Misc.	10	12	10	-2	0	-16.7%	0.0%
	Total	200	193	220	7	-20	3.6%	-9.1%

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.