According to Baker Hughes, the US rig count for the week ended August 11 is now 949 which is up 468 rigs from this time last year when it stood at 481 rigs. Oil rigs are up by 372 year-over-year, and gas rigs have climbed 98, while miscellaneous rigs are down two to zero.
US oil and natural gas producers took offline five drilling rigs over the past week. The decline in rigs extends a brief period of tepid drilling activity in a U.S. shale sector that saw a rapid production boost in the first half of 2017.
Overall, the count of oil-directed rigs climbed by three to 768, but the natural gas rig count dropped by eight to 181. Meanwhile, the U.S. offshore rig count is up one this week and up one rig year over year, Baker Hughes reported.
West Texas' Permian Basin and South Texas' Eagle Ford Shale saw the greatest rig decline this past week with two rigs and three rigs coming offline in the plays, respectively. All-told, Texas saw the biggest fall in rig activity with seven rigs removed, while only California and New Mexico saw rig additions.
The number of Canadian rigs increased by 3 week-on-week to 220 and are up 94 year-on-year from 126. The growth was experienced in oil exploration with oil sites reaching 127 while gas sites reached 93. Year-on-year, the oil rig count is up 65 while the gas rig count is up 60.