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Ron Patterson

Ron Patterson

Ron Patterson is a retired computer engineer. He worked in Saudi Arabia for five years, two years at the Ghazlan Power Plant near Ras Tanura…

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Where Have All The Rigs Gone?

Where Have All The Rigs Gone?

Baker Hughes publishes a weekly oil and gas rig count by producing basin. I have created charts of all the most productive basins in order that we can see where oil and gas rigs are increasing or decreasing. Their historic rig count, by basin, goes back 4 years.

It needs to be noted that Baker Hughes does not count rigs that are not actively drilling. Rigs that are “Moving In, Rigging Up” are not counted in the Baker Hughes count though they are counted by some others including the North Dakota Industrial Commission.

All rig counts are as of Friday, February 27, 2015.

TotalUSRigCount

But first, total US weekly rig count. The oil rig count stands at 986, down 623 from a high of 1,609 in October. The gas rig count stands at 280, down 656 rigs from the high of 935 in October of 2011. However this data base goes back only 4 years. The all-time high for gas rigs was 1,606 in September of 2008. The 1,609 oil rig count in October 2014 was an all-time high for oil rigs. That record is valid only back to the days when Baker Hughes began separate stats for oil and gas rigs however.

EagleFord

Eagle Ford oil rigs currently stand at 136, down from a high 214 in April 2014. Gas rig count is 21, down from 95 in October 2011.

WillistonBasin

Williston Basin rig count stands at 111, down from 224 in June of 2011. The gas rig count is 0, the high was 3 in September of 2013.

PermianBasin

The Permian oil rig count is 352 down from 562 in November 2014. It was 516 as late as the first week in December. The decline of 210 rigs or 37 percent is the largest decline, in rigs, of any area in the US. The gas rig count stands at 3, down from 52 in October of 2011.

Niobrara

The Niobrara oil rig count stands at 25, down from 50 in October 2014. That is a 50 percent drop. The gas rig count was 14, also down 50 percent from 28 in October of 2011. Related: Crude Down Following Biggest Weekly Inventory Rise In 14 Years

Barnett

The Barnett oil rig count is 2, down from 23 in April 2011. The gas rig count stands at 7, down from 64 in May of 2011. Looks like everything is drying up in the Barnett Shale.

Haynesville

The Haynesville oil rig count is 2 down from a high of 4 in September 2012. The gas rig count is 38, down from 160 in February 2011.

Marcellus

The oil rig count in the Marcellus is 0, down from 2 in July 2014. The gas rig count is 68, down from 143 in January of 2012.

GraniteWash

The oil rig count in Granite Wash stands at 27, down from 75 in May of 2012. The gas rig count is 7, down from 73 in June of 2011. Related: Three Reasons Why US Shale Isn’t Going Anywhere

CanaWoodford

The oil rig count in Cana Woodford is 38, down from 42 just one week ago. The gas rig count is 1, down from 59 in October of 2011.

Utica

The Utica oil rig count stands at 13, down from 29 in May 2013. The gas rig count is 25, down from a high of 27 in December of 2014.

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Fayetteville

The oil rig count in Fayetteville is 0, it was 3 in May of 2011. The gas rig count is 9, down from 34 in October of 2011.

Mississippian

The Mississippian rig count stands at 47, down from 92 in February of 2013. The gas rig count is 0, down from a high of 28 in October of 2011.

Two basins not plotted are Ardmore Woodford with 6 oil rigs and 0 gas rigs and Arkoma Woodford with 0 oil rigs and 5 gas rigs.

Others

There are rigs around the US that are not in any of the basins listed or plotted above. The number of these oil rigs stand at 227, down from 408 in October of 2014. The number of these gas rigs stands at 82 down from 225 in March of 2011.

By Ron Patterson of http://peakoilbarrel.com/ 

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Leave a comment
  • tstreet on March 07 2015 said:
    These rig counts are interesting and are an indicator that production will eventually decline. What people really want to know, however, is when and how much the production will decline.

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