North American Rotary Rig Counts

The U.S. rotary rig count was up 12 at 1,883 for the week of July 25, 2014. It is 107 rigs (6.0%) higher than last year.

The number of rotary rigs drilling for oil was up 8 at 1,562. There are 161 more rigs targeting oil than last year. Rigs drilling for oil represent 83.0 percent of all drilling activity. 

Rigs directed toward natural gas were up 3 at 318. The number of rigs drilling for gas is 51 lower than last year's level of 369.

Year-over-year oil exploration in the U.S. is up 11.5 percent. Gas exploration is down 13.8 percent. The weekly average of crude oil spot prices is 2.9 percent lower than last year and natural gas spot prices are 3.6 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 14 at 395 for the week of July 25, 2014 and is 66 (20.1%) higher than last year's rig count. The number of rigs drilling for oil was up 12 at 238 and is 20 (9.2%) higherr than last year. Gas directed rig count at 1557 was up 2 and is 46 rigs (41.4%) 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
	07/25/2014	07/18/2014	07/26/2013	Weekly	Annual	Weekly	Annual
Total U.S.	1,883	1,871	1,776	12	107	0.6%	6.0%
Offshore	60	57	58	3	2	5.3%	3.4%
Land	1,823	1,814	1,718	9	105	0.5%	6.1%
Inland Waters	18	18	22	0	(4)	0.0%	-18.2%
Oil	1,562	1,554	1,401	8	161	0.5%	11.5%
Percent	83.0%	83.1%	78.9%	-0.1%	4.1%
Gas	318	315	369	3	(51)	1.0%	-13.8%
Percent	16.9%	16.8%	20.8%	0.1%	-3.9%
Directional	229	217	287	12	-58	5.5%	-20.2%
Horizontal	1,293	1,288	1,067	5	226	0.4%	21.2%
Vertical	361	366	422	-5	-61	-1.4%	-14.5%
Gulf of Mexico	59	57	54	2	5	3.5%	9.3%
Gulf Oil	43	42	40	1	3	2.4%	7.5%
Percent	72.9%	73.7%	74.1%	-0.8%	-1.2%
Gulf Gas	16	15	14	1	2	6.7%	14.3%
Percent	27.1%	26.3%	25.9%	0.8%	1.2%
Canada	395	381	329	14	66	3.7%	20.1%
Oil	238	226	218	12	20	5.3%	9.2%
Percent	60.3%	59.3%	66.3%	0.9%	-6.0%
Gas	157	155	111	2	46	1.3%	41.4%
Percent	39.7%	40.7%	33.7%	-0.9%	6.0%
North America	2,278	2,252	2,105	26	173	1.2%	8.2%
Prices
Oil $/bbl.	$102.84	$101.66	$105.94	$1.17	($3.11)	1.2%	-2.9%
Oil $/mmbtu	$17.73	$17.53	$18.27	$0.20	($0.54)	1.2%	-2.9%
Gas $/mmbtu	$3.80	$4.05	$3.67	($0.25)	$0.13	-6.1%	3.6%

Monthly: International Rig Counts

International rig count, which excludes the US and Canada, was down 6 to 1,344 for the month of  June 2014 and is 11 rigs (0.8%) above last year's 1,333 rigs.

The total number of rotary rigs worldwide in June was 3,445 up 74 from May and 168 (5.1%) higher than last year.

Worldwide Rotary Rig Count				Change		Percent Change
	June 2014	May 2014	June 2013	Monthly	Annual	Monthly	Annual
Latin America	398	404	423	(6)	(25)	-1.5%	-5.9%
Europe	147	149	138	(2)	9	-1.3%	6.5%
Africa	123	140	133	(17)	(10)	-12.1%	-7.5%
Middle East	425	414	389	11	36	2.7%	9.3%
Far East	251	243	250	8	1	3.3%	0.4%
International	1,344	1,350	1,333	(6)	11	-0.4%	0.8%
Canada	240	162	183	78	57	48.1%	31.1%
United States	1,861	1,859	1,761	2	100	0.1%	5.7%
World	3,445	3,371	3,277	74	168	2.2%	5.1%

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.