North American Rotary Rig Counts

The U.S. rotary rig count from Baker Hughes was up 5 at 511 for the week of September 23, 2016. It is 327 rigs (39.0%) lower than last year. Rig count is 107 above the record low since Baker Hughes started counting rigs in 1949.

The number of rotary rigs drilling for oil was up 2 at 418. There are 222 fewer rigs targeting oil than last year. Rigs drilling for oil represent 81.8 percent of all drilling activity. 

Rigs directed toward natural gas were up 3 at 92. The number of rigs drilling for gas is 105 lower than last year's level of 197.

Year-over-year oil exploration in the U.S. is down 37.4 percent. Gas exploration is down 53.3 percent. The weekly average of crude oil spot prices is 1.9 percent lower than last year and natural gas spot prices are 19.8 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 6 at 138 for the week of September 23, 2016 and is 38 (21.6%) lower than last year. The number of rigs drilling for oil was up 2 at 77 and is 11 (16.7%) higher than last year. Gas directed rig count at 61 was up 5 and is 49 rigs (44.5%) 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
	09/23/2016	09/16/2016	09/25/2015	Weekly	Annual	Weekly	Annual
Total U.S.	511	506	838	5	(327)	1.0%	-39.0%
Offshore	20	20	33	0	(13)	0.0%	-39.4%
Land	491	486	805	5	(314)	1.0%	-39.0%
Inland Waters	3	4	5	(1)	(2)	-25.0%	-40.0%
Oil	418	416	640	2	(222)	0.5%	-34.7%
Percent	81.8%	82.2%	76.4%	-0.4%	5.4%
Gas	92	89	197	3	(105)	3.4%	-53.3%
Percent	18.0%	17.6%	23.5%	0.4%	-5.5%
Directional	49	48	86	1	-37	2.1%	-43.0%
Horizontal	402	394	629	8	-227	2.0%	-36.1%
Vertical	60	64	123	-4	-63	-6.3%	-51.2%
Gulf of Mexico	20	20	31	0	-11	0.0%	-35.5%
Gulf Oil	19	19	22	0	-3	0.0%	-13.6%
Percent	95.0%	95.0%	71.0%	0.0%	24.0%
Gulf Gas	1	1	9	0	-8	0.0%	-88.9%
Percent	5.0%	5.0%	29.0%	0.0%	-24.0%
Canada	138	132	176	6	(38)	4.5%	-21.6%
Oil	77	75	66	2	11	2.7%	16.7%
Percent	55.8%	56.8%	37.5%	-1.0%	18.3%
Gas	61	56	110	5	(49)	8.9%	-44.5%
Percent	44.2%	42.4%	62.5%	1.8%	-18.3%
North America	649	638	1,014	11	(365)	1.7%	-36.0%
Prices
Oil $/bbl.	$44.77	$44.34	$45.63	$0.44	($0.86)	1.0%	-1.9%
Oil $/mmbtu	$7.72	$7.64	$7.87	$0.08	($0.15)	1.0%	-1.9%
Gas $/mmbtu	$3.08	$3.00	$2.57	$0.09	$0.51	2.9%	19.8%

Monthly: International Rig Counts

International rig count, which excludes the US and Canada, was up 11 to 938 for the month of July 2016 and is 180 rigs (16.1%) lower than last year's 1,118 rigs.

The total number of rotary rigs targeting oil in July was 680 up 3 from June and 169 (13.3%) lower than last year. International gas rigs were up 4 for the month at 201 and are 26 (11.5%) lower than last year.

International Rig Count					Monthly		Annual
		Jul-2016	Jun-2016	Jul-2015	Change	Percent	Change	Percent
Total	Oil	680	677	849	3	0.4%	-169	-19.9%
	Gas	201	197	227	4	2.0%	-26	-11.5%
	Misc	57	53	42	4	7.5%	15	35.7%
	Total	938	927	1118	11	1.2%	-180	-16.1%
Europe	Oil	49	48	60	1	2.1%	-11	-18.3%
	Gas	12	11	24	1	9.1%	-12	-50.0%
	Mis	33	32	24	1	3.1%	9	37.5%
	Total	94	91	108	3	3.3%	-14	-13.0%
Middle East	Oil	288	284	292	4	1.4%	-4	-1.4%
	Gas	102	105	99	-3	-2.9%	3	3.0%
	Mis	0	0	0	0	N.A.	0	N.A.
	Total	390	389	391	1	0.3%	-1	-0.3%
Africa	Oil	50	58	67	-8	-13.8%	-17	-25.4%
	Gas	22	18	16	4	22.2%	6	37.5%
	Mis	10	11	11	-1	-9.1%	-1	-9.1%
	Total	82	87	94	-5	-5.7%	-12	-12.8%
Latin America	Oil	158	151	289	7	4.6%	-131	-45.3%
	Gas	22	24	23	-2	-8.3%	-1	-4.3%
	Mis	6	3	1	3	100.0%	5	500.0%
	Total	186	178	313	8	4.5%	-127	-40.6%
Asia Pacific	Oil	135	136	141	-1	-0.7%	-6	-4.3%
	Gas	43	39	65	4	10.3%	-22	-33.8%
	Mis	8	7	6	1	14.3%	2	33.3%
	Total	186	182	212	4	2.2%	-26	-12.3%

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.