US drilling rig count rises to 1,974
US oil and gas drilling activity this week rose by 9 units to reach 1,974 total rigs working. The rig count for the week ended May 11 was up by 144 rigs compared with the same period a year ago, Baker Hughes Inc. reported.
Almost all of this gain was in land drilling operations, which was up 8 units to 1,907 rigs working. There were 45 rigs drilling offshore—all in the Gulf of Mexico—which was up 1 rig from the previous week. Rigs drilling in inland waters totaled 22, unchanged from last week (OGJ Online, May 4, 2012).
Rigs drilling for oil in the US increased by 17 units from a week ago to reach 1,372. Rigs targeting gas for the week ended May 11 decreased by 8 rigs to reach 598. There were 4 rotary rigs unclassified, unchanged from last week.
Baker Hughes reported 228 rigs conducting directional drilling, a loss of 6 units from last week. Horizontal drilling increased by 29 rigs to reach a total of 1,187 units.
Of the top producing states, Oklahoma was up 3 rigs to 201. California and Alaska, at 47 and 5, respectively, were up 2 rigs each. Three states were up 1 rig, namely Texas, 934; Wyoming, 40; and West Virginia, 22. Three states—North Dakota, Arkansas, and Ohio—were unchanged from a week ago at 197, 23, and 16, respectively. Down 1 rig each were Pennsylvania, 95; New Mexico, 86; and Colorado, 64. Louisiana, at 128 rigs working, was down by 2 units.
Canada’s rig count declined another 11 units from a week ago, reaching 120. This is down 7 units from the same period a year ago.
Contact Steven Poruban at [email protected].
Steven Poruban | Managing Editor-News
Steven Poruban was hired as staff writer for Oil & Gas Journal in October 1998. Two years later, he was promoted to senior staff writer. In October 2004, he was then promoted to senior editor. He now serves as managing editor-news.
Before working for OGJ, Steven was a reporter for Gas Daily and editor of Gas Transportation Report. He attended Boston University then transferred to and graduated from Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pa., with a BA in English in 1993.
