US drilling rig count falls 16 units to 1,898

The US rig count fell by 16 units during the week ended Aug. 24. The total number of rotary rigs in the US reached 1,898 this week, Baker Hughes Inc. reported. This compares with 1,975 rigs during the comparable week last year.

Land drilling operations were down 13 units from a week ago, reaching 1,830 units. There were 18 rigs drilling in inland waters, down 2 units from last week.

Of the total, 50 rigs were drilling offshore, a decrease of 1 unit from a week ago. Of these rigs, 49 were drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, up 1 unit from last week.

Of the recent week’s total, oil rigs were down by 17 units from the previous week, reaching 1,408. Gas rigs, meanwhile, increased 2 units to 486. Four active rotaries were unclassified, a decline of 1 unit from last week.

Rigs drilling directionally were reported at 220, down 9 units from a week ago and 8 fewer than the same week last year. The number of rigs drilling horizontally increased by 6 units to 1,159 compared with 1,140 in the comparable week a year ago.

Among the major drilling states with declines this week were Texas, down 7 rigs to 895; California, down 6 to 48; Pennsylvania, Colorado, and Ohio, down 2 rigs each to respective counts of 66, 61, and 17; and West Virginia, down 1 to 27 rigs working. Unchanged from last week were: North Dakota, 186; Louisiana, 121; and Arkansas, 16. Four states—Oklahoma, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Alaska—were up 1 rig each to 199, 86, 52, and 6, respectively.

Canada’s rig count was 334, including 247 rigs drilling for oil and 87 units drilling for gas. The total was up 8 units from the previous week and down 174 units from last year’s comparable week.