Rig count issued by Baker Hughes
On Friday, Baker Hughes issued its weekly rig count which showed a significant drop in the number of rigs operating in the US and a sizeable increase in rigs searching for oil and gas in Canada.
According to the count, the total number of rigs operating in the United States last week dropped by 34 to a total of 664.
Texas recorded the biggest loss in rigs with 13 fewer exploration rigs operating. New Mexico, North Dakota and Oklahoma all lost four rigs while West Virginia was down by three rigs. Alaska, Colorado and Pennsylvania reported a loss of two rigs each and Arkansas, Kansas and Wyoming were all down by one rig. California, Ohio and Utah all remained steady, not losing any rigs and Louisiana bucked the trend by adding one exploration rig.
In total, there were 20 fewer oil rigs and 14 fewer gas rigs operational in the United States. There were two new rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, increasing the number to 27.
The US rig count is down 1,086 rigs from last year at 1,750, with oil rigs down 905, and gas rigs down 181.
In its report ending on Dec. 31, 2015, Baker Hughes showed Canada was down by a whopping 43 rigs. This week the report showed a marked recovery with an additional 83 rigs operational in Canada, bringing the total number of rigs to 166. 59 new oil rigs and 24 new gas rigs were up and running in Canada’s oil and gas patch.
The Canadian Rig Count is down 200 rigs from last year at 366, with oil rigs down 110, and gas rigs down 90 .
The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981 and bottomed at 488 in 1999.