North American Rotary Rig Counts

The U.S. rotary rig count from Baker Hughes was down 43 at 1,267 for the week of February 27, 2015. It is 502 rigs (28.4%) lower than last year.

The number of rotary rigs drilling for oil was down 33 at 986. There are 444 fewer rigs targeting oil than last year. Rigs drilling for oil represent 77.8 percent of all drilling activity. 

Rigs directed toward natural gas were down 9 at 289. The number of rigs drilling for gas is 55 lower than last year's level of 335.

Year-over-year oil exploration in the U.S. is down 28.4 percent. Gas exploration is down 16.4 percent. The weekly average of crude oil spot prices is 51.7 percent lower than last year and natural gas spot prices are 39.4 percent lower than last year. Daily crude oil and natural gas futures and spot prices are available on our site.

Canadian rig activity was down 30 at 330 for the week of February 27, 2015 and is 296 (47.3%) lower than last year. The number of rigs drilling for oil was down 13 at 171 and is 252 (59.6%) lower than last year. Gas directed rig count at 159 was down 17 and is 44 rigs (21.7%) 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.

North American Rig Count				Change		Percent Change
	02/27/2015	02/20/2015	02/28/2014	Weekly	Annual	Weekly	Annual
Total U.S.	1,267	1,310	1,769	(43)	(502)	-3.3%	-28.4%
Offshore	51	54	55	(3)	(4)	-5.6%	-7.3%
Land	1,216	1,256	1,714	(40)	(498)	-3.2%	-29.1%
Inland Waters	8	6	18	2	(10)	33.3%	-55.6%
Oil	986	1,019	1,430	(33)	(444)	-3.2%	-31.0%
Percent	77.8%	77.8%	80.8%	0.0%	-3.0%
Gas	280	289	335	(9)	(55)	-3.1%	-16.4%
Percent	22.1%	22.1%	18.9%	0.0%	3.2%
Directional	127	128	197	-1	-70	-0.8%	-35.5%
Horizontal	946	979	1,181	-33	-235	-3.4%	-19.9%
Vertical	194	203	391	-9	-197	-4.4%	-50.4%
Gulf of Mexico	49	52	53	-3	-4	-5.8%	-7.5%
Gulf Oil	40	40	36	0	4	0.0%	11.1%
Percent	81.6%	76.9%	67.9%	4.7%	13.7%
Gulf Gas	9	12	17	-3	-8	-25.0%	-47.1%
Percent	18.4%	23.1%	32.1%	-4.7%	-13.7%
Canada	330	360	626	(30)	(296)	-8.3%	-47.3%
Oil	171	184	423	(13)	(252)	-7.1%	-59.6%
Percent	51.8%	51.1%	67.6%	0.7%	-15.8%
Gas	159	176	203	(17)	(44)	-9.7%	-21.7%
Percent	48.2%	48.9%	32.4%	-0.7%	15.8%
North America	1,597	1,670	2,395	(73)	(798)	-4.4%	-33.3%
Prices
Oil $/bbl.	$49.53	$51.90	$102.45	($2.37)	($52.92)	-4.6%	-51.7%
Oil $/mmbtu	$8.54	$8.95	$17.66	($0.41)	($9.12)	-4.6%	-51.7%
Gas $/mmbtu	$3.15	$2.96	$5.21	$0.19	($2.06)	6.6%	-39.5%

Monthly: International Rig Counts

International rig count, which excludes the US and Canada, was down 43 to 1,339 for the month of  August 2014 and is 72 rigs (5.7%) above last year's 1,267 rigs.

The total number of rotary rigs worldwide in August was 3,642 up 34 from July and 226 (6.6%) higher than last year.

Worldwide Rotary Rig Count				Change		Percent Change
	Aug 2014	Jul 2014	Aug 2013	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual
Latin America	410	407	399	3	11	0.7%	2.8%
Europe	143	153	143	(10)	0	-6.5%	0.0%
Africa	125	137	125	(12)	0	-8.8%	0.0%
Middle East	406	432	362	(26)	44	-6.0%	12.2%
Far East	255	253	238	2	17	0.8%	7.1%
International	1,339	1,382	1,267	(43)	72	-3.1%	5.7%
Canada	399	350	368	49	31	14.0%	8.4%
United States	1,904	1,876	1,781	28	123	1.5%	6.9%
World	3,642	3,608	3,416	34	226	0.9%	6.6%

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.