In its weekly release, Baker Hughes Company BKR reported an increase in the U.S. rig count from the prior week. The rotary rig count, issued by Baker Hughes, usually gets published in major newspapers and trade publications.

Baker Hughes’ data, issued at the end of every week since 1944, helps energy service providers gauge the overall business environment of the oil and gas industry. The number of active rigs and its comparison with the prior-week tally indicates the trajectory of demand for Baker Hughes’oilfield services from exploration and production companies.

Details

Total US Rig Count Rises: The count of rigs engaged in the exploration and production of oil and natural gas in the United States was 576 for the week through Dec 10, higher thanthe prior-week count of 569. Thus, the tally has increased in six of the past seven weeks, keeping the count at the highest mark since April 2020. The current national rig count is higher than the year-ago level of 338.

The number of onshore rigs for the week ended Dec 10 totaled 560, higher than the prior-week count of 554. In offshore resources, 14 rigs were operating, higher than the prior-week count of 13.

US Oil Rig Count Rises: Oil rig count was 471 for the week ended Dec 10, higher than the prior-week count of 467. The current tally of oil rigs — far from the peak of 1,609 attained in October 2014 — is higher than the year-ago figure of 258.

Natural Gas Rig Count Rises in US: Natural gas rig count of 105 was higher than the prior-week count of 102. The count of rigs exploring the commodity was higher than the prior-year week’s 79. Per the latest report, the number of natural gas-directed rigs is roughly 94% below the all-time high of 1,606 recorded in 2008.

Rig Count by Type: The number of vertical drilling rigs totaled 24 units, lower than the prior-week count of 25. Horizontal/directional rig count (encompassing new drilling technology with the ability to drill and extract gas from dense rock formations, also known as shale formations) of 552 compared favorably with the prior-week level of 544.

Gulf of Mexico (GoM) Rig Count Increases: GoM rig count was 14 units, of which all were oil-directed. The count was higher than the prior-week number of 13.

Rig Count in the Most Prolific Basin

Permian — the most prolific basin in the United States — recorded a weekly oil rig tally of 286, higher than the prior-week count of 283. The basin's oil drilling rigs increased in 16 of the last 18 weeks.