In the past 32 weeks, the total US rig count has gone down only once.
Active rigs in the US have stretched their climb into the 23rd week, according to Baker Hughes’ Rotary Rig Count. Eight rigs came online in the US last week, bringing the total number of active rigs in the US to 941. In the past 32 weeks, the total US rig count has gone down only once.
Land-based rigs made up the majority of growth, adding seven to close the week at 915. One inland waters rig came online, making a total of four active rigs. Offshore rigs are unchanged at 22.
Oil rigs continue to increase their share of the overall US rig market, adding 11 last week. Three gas rigs came offline, making the total number of oil and gas-targeting rigs 758 and 183, respectively.
Horizontal rigs used in unconventional development dominate current US activity. Ten horizontal rigs became active last week. Three directional rigs came online, while five vertical rigs shut down. The 792 active horizontal rigs represent 84 percent of the total number of US rigs.
Oklahoma added the highest number of rigs, with five coming online. The second-largest gain was in North Dakota, which added three rigs to end the week with 52 active rigs. Two rigs came online in Louisiana, while California and Colorado each added one. Two rigs shut down in Alaska, and one came offline in both New Mexico and Utah.
Meanwhile, Canada continues to recover from the yearly “spring breakup”, where a large portion of active rigs shut down in the springtime. 11 rigs came online in Canada last week, bringing the total number of rigs in the country to 170.
Notably, the proportion of oil and gas rigs in Canada is almost the exact opposite of the proportion at this point last year. Currently, there are 98 oil-targeting rigs and 72 gas-targeting rigs in Canada. At this point last year, by contrast, there were 36 and 39 oil and gas-targeting rigs, respectively.