North American Rotary Rig Counts

The U.S. rotary rig count from Baker Hughes was down 2 at 950 for the week of July 21, 2017. It is 488 rigs (105.6%) higher than last year.

The number of rotary rigs drilling for oil was down 1 at 764. There are 393 more rigs targeting oil than last year. Rigs drilling for oil represent 80.4 percent of all drilling activity. 

Rigs directed toward natural gas were down 1 at 186. The number of rigs drilling for gas is 98 higher than last year's level of 88.

Year-over-year oil exploration in the U.S. is up 105.9 percent. Gas exploration is up 111.4 percent. The weekly average of crude oil spot prices is 3.8 percent higher than last year and natural gas spot prices are 11.3 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 15 at 206 for the week of July 21, 2017 and is 104 (102.0%) higher than last year. Rigs targeting oil were up 12 at 118 and are 70 (145.8%) higher than last year. Gas directed rig count at 88 was up 3 and is 35 rigs (66.0%) 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.

North American Rig Count				Change		Percent Change
	07/21/2017	07/14/2017	07/22/2016	Weekly	Annual	Weekly	Annual
Total U.S.	950	952	462	(2)	488	-0.2%	105.6%
Offshore	23	21	19	2	4	9.5%	21.1%
Land	927	931	443	(4)	484	-0.4%	109.3%
Inland Waters	3	3	3	0	0	0.0%	0.0%
Oil	764	765	371	(1)	393	-0.1%	105.9%
Percent	80.4%	80.4%	80.3%	0.1%	0.1%
Gas	186	187	88	(1)	98	-0.5%	111.4%
Percent	19.6%	19.6%	19.0%	-0.1%	0.5%
Directional	75	72	44	3	31	4.2%	70.5%
Horizontal	803	804	357	-1	446	-0.1%	124.9%
Vertical	72	76	61	-4	11	-5.3%	18.0%
Gulf of Mexico	23	21	18	2	5	9.5%	27.8%
Gulf Oil	20	18	14	2	6	11.1%	42.9%
Percent	87.0%	85.7%	77.8%	1.2%	9.2%
Gulf Gas	3	3	4	0	-1	0.0%	-25.0%
Percent	13.0%	14.3%	22.2%	-1.2%	-9.2%
Canada	206	191	102	15	104	7.9%	102.0%
Oil	118	106	48	12	70	11.3%	145.8%
Percent	57.3%	55.5%	47.1%	1.8%	10.2%
Gas	88	85	53	3	35	3.5%	66.0%
Percent	42.7%	44.5%	52.0%	-1.8%	-9.2%
North America	1,156	1,143	564	13	592	1.1%	105.0%
Prices
Oil $/bbl.	$46.62	$45.51	$44.93	$1.11	$1.69	2.4%	3.8%
Oil $/mmbtu	$8.04	$7.85	$7.75	$0.19	$0.29	2.4%	3.8%
Gas $/mmbtu	$3.08	$2.95	$2.76	$0.13	$0.31	4.3%	11.3%

Monthly: International Rig Counts

International rig count, which excludes the US and Canada, was up 1 to 957 for the month of May 2017 and is 2 rigs (0.2%) higher than last year's 955 rigs.

The total number of rotary rigs targeting oil in May was 715 up 5 from April and 11 (1.6%) higher than last year. International gas rigs were down 1 for the month at 202 and are 5 (2.5%) higher than last year.

International Rig Count					Monthly		Annual
		May-2017	Apr-2017	May-2016	Change	Percent	Change	Percent
Total	Oil	715	710	704	5	0.7%	11	1.6%
	Gas	202	203	197	-1	-0.5%	5	2.5%
	Misc	40	43	54	-3	-7.0%	-14	-25.9%
	Total	957	956	955	1	0.1%	2	0.2%
Europe	Oil	51	52	51	-1	-1.9%	0	0.0%
	Gas	21	18	11	3	16.7%	10	90.9%
	Mis	23	21	33	2	9.5%	-10	-30.3%
	Total	95	91	95	4	4.4%	0	0.0%
Middle East	Oil	293	295	289	-2	-0.7%	4	1.4%
	Gas	98	94	102	4	4.3%	-4	-3.9%
	Mis	0	0	0	0	N.A.	0	N.A.
	Total	391	389	391	2	0.5%	0	0.0%
Africa	Oil	59	60	62	-1	-1.7%	-3	-4.8%
	Gas	16	18	18	-2	-11.1%	-2	-11.1%
	Mis	9	11	11	-2	-18.2%	-2	-18.2%
	Total	84	89	91	-5	-5.6%	-7	-7.7%
Latin America	Oil	173	164	164	9	5.5%	9	5.5%
	Gas	17	18	21	-1	-5.6%	-4	-19.0%
	Mis	0	0	3	0	N.A.	-3	-100.0%
	Total	190	182	188	8	4.4%	2	1.1%
Asia Pacific	Oil	139	139	138	0	0.0%	1	0.7%
	Gas	50	55	45	-5	-9.1%	5	11.1%
	Mis	8	11	7	-3	-27.3%	1	14.3%
	Total	197	205	190	-8	-3.9%	7	3.7%

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.