US Rig Count Soars Up +10, OKLA +5
Oil futures closed much lower Friday, weighed down by rising trade tensions between the U.S. and China and data that showed an increase in the number of U.S. rigs drilling for crude. West Texas Intermediate oil for May delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange dropped $1.48, to settle at $62.06 a barrel. For the week, the U.S. benchmark declined around 4.6%.
Oil prices will be under further pressure this week after U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to expand planned tariffs on Chinese imports, and Beijing has warned of further retaliation. Stay tuned!
Weekly Summary: Rigs engaged in the exploration and production in the U.S. climbed +10 for the week ended April 6, 2018, up to 1003. Land rigs were +10 up to 987. The offshore rig count was flat. Rigs drilling in the inland waters were also flat for the week.
Oil Rig Count: The US crude oil rig count grew by 11 to 808 for the week. There are 136 more rigs targeting oil than last year. Rigs drilling for oil represent 80.5 percent of all drilling activity.
US oil rigs tested an all-time high of 1,609 in October 2014. In contrast, the rigs hit 316 in May 2016—the lowest level since the 1940s.
Natural Gas Rig Count: The natural gas rig count – which plunged to its lowest last August – remained flat at 194. The number of rigs drilling for gas is 29 higher than last year’s level of 165.
Among major oil- and gas-producing states, Oklahoma added five rigs. New Mexico tacked on three, while Kansas and Texas each gained two. North Dakota, Ohio, Utah, and West Virginia increased by one each.
Louisiana lost two rigs, while Alaska, Colorado, Pennsylvania, and Wyoming dropped one each.
Arkansas and California were unchanged.
Summary of Major Plays – Ranked By Rig Count
– Permian Basin 444 rigs compared to last week’s 443 rigs
– Eagle Ford 73 rigs compared to last week’s 72 rigs
– Cana Woodford 63 rigs compared to last week’s 63 rigs
– Williston 55 rigs compared to last week’s 54 rigs
– Marcellus 56 rigs compared to last week’s 57 rigs
– Haynesville 52 rigs compared to last week’s 52 rigs
– DJ-Niobrara 24 rigs compared to last week’s 24 rigs
– Utica 24 rigs compared to last week’s 22 rigs
– Granite Wash 12 rigs compared to last week’s 12 rigs
– Arkoma Woodford 7 rigs compared to last week’s 7 rigs
For more details on the latest national and state news regarding last Friday’s Baker Hughes rig count data, check out the interactive rig count dashboard on the Oklahoma Index tab of our website.
Thank you for your continued support and keep an eye out for this week’s recap on Friday Snippets!
Compiled and Published by GIB KNIGHT
Gib Knight is a private oil and gas investor and consultant, providing clients advanced analytics and building innovative visual business intelligence solutions to visualize the results, across a broad spectrum of regulatory filings and production data in Oklahoma and Texas. He is the founder of OklahomaMinerals.com, an online resource designed for mineral owners in Oklahoma.
