In its weekly release, Baker Hughes Company BKR reported that the U.S. rig count was in line with the prior week's tally. 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 to gauge the overall business environment of the oil and gas industry. The number of active rigs and its comparison with the prior-week figure indicates the demand trajectory for Baker Hughes’ oilfield services from exploration and production companies.

Details

Total US Rig Count Flat: The count of rigs engaged in the exploration and production of oil and natural gas in the United States was 650 for the week through Mar 4, in line withthe prior-week count. Thus, the tally has increased in eight of the prior nine weeks. The current national rig count is higher than the year-ago level of 403.

The number of onshore rigs for the week ended Mar 4 totaled 635, in line with the prior-week count. In offshore resources, 12 rigs were operating, flat with the prior-week count.

US Oil Rig Count Declines: Oil rig count was 519 for the week ended Mar 4, lower than the prior-week figure of 522. The current number of oil rigs — far from the peak of 1,609 attained in October 2014 — is, however, up from the year-ago figure of 310.

Natural Gas Rig Count Rises in the US: Natural gas rig count of 130 was higher than the prior-week figure of 127. The count of rigs exploring the commodity is also higher than the prior-year week’s tally of 92. Per the latest report, the number of natural gas-directed rigs is 91.9% lower than the all-time high of 1,606 recorded in 2008.

Rig Count by Type: The number of vertical drilling rigs totaled 25 units, lower than the prior-week count of 26. 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 625, however, compared favorably with the prior-week level of 624.

Gulf of Mexico (GoM) Rig Count Flat: GoM rig count was 12 units, all being oil-directed. The count was in line with the prior-week number.

Rig Count in the Most Prolific Basin

Permian — the most prolific basin in the United States — recorded a weekly oil rig tally of 310, higher than the prior-week count of 309. Thus, the basin's oil drilling rig count increased for six straight weeks.

Outlook

The West Texas Intermediate crude price is trading above $120 per barrel, marking a massive improvement in the past year. The price of the commodity shot up primarily with the escalation of Russian attacks on Ukraine. Higher oil price will pave the way for rig additions despite a slowdown in drilling activities as upstream players mainly focus on stockholder returns rather than boosting output.