North American Rotary Rig Counts

The U.S. rotary rig count was unchanged at 1,769 for the week of May 17, 2013. It is 217 rigs (10.9%) lower than last year.

The number of rotary rigs drilling for oil was down 4 at 1,408. There are 40 more rigs targeting oil than last year. Rigs drilling for oil represent 79.6 percent of all drilling activity. 

Rigs directed toward natural gas were up 4 at 354. The number of rigs currently drilling for gas is 246 lower than last year's level of  600.

Year-over-year oil exploration in the U.S. is up 1.9 percent. Gas exploration is down 41.0 percent. The weekly average of crude oil spot prices is 1.7 percent higher than last year and natural gas spot prices are 59.4 percent higher than last year. Daily crude oil and natural gas futures and spot prices are available on our site.

Canadian rig activity is up 5 at 123 for the week of May 17, 2013 and is equal to last year's rig count. The number of rigs drilling for oil was up 5 at 70 and is 6 (7.9%) lower than last year. Gas directed rig count was unchanged at 53 and is 6 (12.8%) higher than a year ago. Canadian drilling falls rapidly in the spring to avoid environmental damage moving drilling equipment during the spring thaw and rainy season. With wide weather related seasonal swings, even year-over-year comparisons can lead to incorrect conclusions.

North American Rig Count				Change		Percent Change
	05/17/2013	05/10/2013	05/18/2012	Weekly	Annual	Weekly	Annual
Total U.S.	1,769	1,769	1,986	0	(217)	0.0%	-10.9%
Offshore	52	50	47	2	5	4.0%	10.6%
Land	1,717	1,719	1,939	(2)	(222)	-0.1%	-11.4%
Inland Waters	24	23	22	1	2	4.3%	9.1%
Oil	1,408	1,412	1,382	(4)	26	-0.3%	1.9%
Percent	79.6%	79.8%	69.6%	-0.2%	10.0%
Gas	354	350	600	4	(246)	1.1%	-41.0%
Percent	20.0%	19.8%	30.2%	0.2%	-10.2%
Directional	211	198	227	13	-16	6.6%	-7.0%
Horizontal	1,096	1,099	1,193	-3	-97	-0.3%	-8.1%
Vertical	462	472	566	-10	-104	-2.1%	-18.4%
Gulf of Mexico	49	47	46	2	3	4.3%	6.5%
Gulf Oil	40	37	19	3	21	8.1%	110.5%
Percent	81.6%	78.7%	41.3%	2.9%	40.3%
Gulf Gas	9	10	27	-1	-18	-10.0%	-66.7%
Percent	18.4%	21.3%	58.7%	-2.9%	-40.3%
Canada	123	118	123	5	0	4.2%	0.0%
Oil	70	65	76	5	(6)	7.7%	-7.9%
Percent	56.9%	55.1%	61.8%	1.8%	-4.9%
Gas	53	53	47	0	6	0.0%	12.8%
Percent	43.1%	44.9%	38.2%	-1.8%	4.9%
North America	1,892	1,887	2,109	5	(217)	0.3%	-10.3%
Prices
Oil $/bbl.	$94.71	$96.17	$93.12	-$1.46	$1.59	-1.5%	1.7%
Gas $/mmbtu	$3.962	$3.894	$2.485	$0.068	$1.477	1.8%	59.4%

Monthly: International Rig Counts

International rig count, which excludes the US and Canada, was up 33 to 1,301 for the month of April 2013 and is 123 rigs (10.4%) above last year's 1,178 rigs.

*The rig count for October includes 72 rigs in Iraq. Iraq's rig count was not included last year's total. Compared to last year without Iraq the rig count would be 1,229 and 51 rigs higher than last year.

The total number of rotary rigs worldwide in April was 3,209 down 279 from March and 89 (2.7%) lower than last year.

Worldwide Rotary Rig Count				Change		Percent Change
	April 2013	March 2013	April 2012	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual
Latin America	429	437	423	(8)	6	-1.8%	1.4%
Europe	136	133	118	3	18	2.3%	15.3%
Africa	125	115	80	10	45	8.7%	56.3%
Middle East	354	336	312	18	42	5.4%	13.5%
Far East	257	247	245	10	12	4.0%	4.9%
International	1,301	1,268	1,178	33	123	2.6%	10.4%
Canada	153	464	158	(311)	(5)	-67.0%	-3.2%
United States	1,755	1,756	1,962	(1)	(207)	-0.1%	-10.6%
World	3,209	3,488	3,298	(279)	(89)	-8.0%	-2.7%

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.