North American Rig Count Tumbles as Canadian Oil Drilling Retreats

North American drilling activity declined during the week ended Sept. 18 as a sharp pullback in Canadian operations outweighed an increase in the US. Baker Hughes officials reported Friday that 792 rotary rigs were working across the US and Canada, six fewer than the previous week.

The weekly movement reflected sharply different results on either side of the border. Canada lost 10 rigs during the reporting period, while the US added four, producing the combined decline of six rigs across North America.

Canada finished the week with 197 working rigs, down from 207 one week earlier. Fewer rigs targeting oil drove most of the Canadian contraction, making that segment the largest contributor to the country’s weekly reduction.

Canadian operators had 134 rigs drilling for oil, seven fewer than during the previous week. The number of rigs targeting natural gas also declined, falling by three units to a weekly total of 62.

Together, those changes accounted for the full 10 rig decline reported in Canada. Oil drilling represented seven of the lost rigs, while gas drilling accounted for the remaining three units removed from the weekly count.

The US moved in the opposite direction, adding four rigs from the previous week to reach 595. That total also stood 53 rigs above the level recorded at the same time last year, according to the Baker Hughes report.

Most US drilling remained concentrated on land, where the count increased by four rigs to 585. The weekly land gain matched the overall increase in the national count, although activity also shifted within inland waters and offshore areas.

Three rigs were operating in US inland waters, an increase of one unit from the previous week. Offshore drilling decreased by one rig, leaving seven units working in that category at the end of the reporting period.

US operators also increased activity in both major drilling targets. The number of rigs drilling for gas rose by two to 134, while the oil directed rig count gained two units and finished the week at 452.

Another nine US rigs were classified outside the oil and gas categories. That unclassified total was unchanged from the previous week, leaving the national increase entirely within rigs identified as drilling for oil or gas.

At the state level, New Mexico and North Dakota recorded the largest increases cited in the report. Each state added three rigs, bringing New Mexico’s weekly total to 95 and North Dakota’s count to 31.

Utah also posted an increase, adding one rig during the week. The state ended the reporting period with 14 rigs running, placing it behind New Mexico and North Dakota among the states that recorded gains.

The increases were partly offset by declines in Texas, Louisiana, and Colorado. Each of those states lost one rig during the week, with no state among the three recording a reduction of more than a single unit.

Texas remained the largest state count listed in the report despite its weekly decline. The state finished with 283 working rigs after dropping one unit from the previous week.

Louisiana closed the week with 35 rigs following its one unit decrease. Colorado also lost one rig and ended the reporting period with 12 units still working.

Across the six states specifically identified, New Mexico, North Dakota, and Utah collectively added seven rigs. Texas, Louisiana, and Colorado collectively removed three, producing a net increase of four rigs among those named states.

That state level balance corresponded with the four rig increase recorded across the US. The national gain, however, was not enough to counter Canada’s 10 rig contraction in the combined North American count.

The final weekly totals showed 595 rigs operating in the US and 197 in Canada. Combined activity stood at 792 rigs, with Canadian oil drilling providing the largest single decline among the categories detailed by Baker Hughes.