US rig count rises by 7: Baker Hughes
The US drilling rig count rose by seven to 439 this week, continuing an upward trend.
Oil rigs increased by seven to 344 and natural gas rigs rose by one to 94, according to Baker Hughes data released today. Miscellaneous rigs fell by one to one. The total US rig count is at the highest in about a year.
The number of US rigs drilling horizontally rose by four to 398 this week. The number drilling vertically increased by one to 21 and directional rigs rose by two to 20.
In the top oil producing Permian basin in Texas and New Mexico, drilling rigs increased by three to 227.
US drilling rig counts have been increasing this year after a sharp decline in 2020 caused by the Covid-19-related drop in global demand.
The EIA last week slightly lowered its US crude production estimates for 2021 and 2022. Domestic crude production will average 11.04mn b/d this year, and 11.86mn b/d in 2022, the agency said in its monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO).
US output reached a record yearly high of about 12.3mn b/d in 2019, the last full year before the Covid-19 pandemic struck the globe.
| US weekly rig count | ||||
| Week ended 9 April | Week ended 16 April | ± | Year earlier | |
| US total | 432 | 439 | 7 | 529 |
| US oil rigs | 337 | 344 | 7 | 438 |
| US natural gas rigs | 93 | 94 | 1 | 89 |
| Canada | 58 | 56 | -2 | 30 |
| North America total | 490 | 495 | 5 | 559 |
| — Baker Hughes | ||||
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