In its weekly release, Houston-based oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI) reported a rise in the U.S. rig count (number of rigs searching for oil and gas in the country), primarily reflecting an increase in the tally of land rigs.
The Baker Hughes rig count, issued since 1944, acts as an important yardstick for drilling contractors such as Transocean Inc. (RIG), Diamond Offshore (DO), Noble Corp. (NE), Pride International (PDE), Nabors Industries (NBR), Patterson-UTI Energy (PTEN) and Helmerich & Payne (HP) in gauging the overall business environment of the oil and gas industry.
Weekly Summary
Rigs engaged in exploration and production in the U.S. totaled 1,720 for the week ended March 18, 2011. This is up by 5 from the previous week’s rig count and represents the third increase in as many weeks.
The current nationwide rig count is 96% higher than the 2009 low of 876 (set in the week ended June 12, 2009) and significantly exceeds the prior-year level of 1,427. It rose to a 22-year high in 2008, peaking to 2,031 in the weeks ending August 29 and September 12.
Rigs engaged in land operations climbed by 4 to 1,677, inland waters activity increased by 1 to 18, while offshore drilling remained steady at 25.
Natural Gas Rig Count
The natural gas rig count decreased by 7 from the previous week to 875, the lowest level since January 2010. As a result of the decline, the number of gas-directed rigs are down approximately 12% from the 18-month high reached during mid-August, 2010, when it hit 992, the highest since February 2009.
The current natural gas rig count remains 46% below its peak of 1,606 in late summer 2008 but has rebounded strongly after bottoming out to a 7-year low of 665 on July 17, 2009. In the year-ago period, there were 939 active natural gas rigs.
Oil Rig Count
The oil rig count was up by 12 to 839. The current tally – the highest in 23 years – is considerably more than the previous year’s rig count of 474. It has recovered strongly from a low of 179 in June 2009, rising more than 4.5 times.
Miscellaneous Rig Count
The miscellaneous rig count (primarily drilling for geothermal energy) at 6 remained unchanged from the previous week.
Rig Count by Type
The number of vertical drilling rigs fell by 6 to 503, while the horizontal/directional rig count (encompassing new drilling technology that has the ability to drill and extract gas from dense rock formations, also known as shale formations) was up by 11 to 1,217.
BAKER-HUGHES (BHI): Free Stock Analysis Report
DIAMOND OFFSHOR (DO): Free Stock Analysis Report
HELMERICH&PAYNE (HP): Free Stock Analysis Report
NABORS IND (NBR): Free Stock Analysis Report
NOBLE CORP (NE): Free Stock Analysis Report
PRIDE INTL INC (PDE): Free Stock Analysis Report
PATTERSON-UTI (PTEN): Free Stock Analysis Report
TRANSOCEAN LTD (RIG): Free Stock Analysis Report
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