The U.S. natural gas rig count held steady at 98 for the week ended Friday (June 21), while a small decrease in oil-directed drilling sent the combined domestic tally down two units to 588, according to the latest numbers from Baker Hughes Co. (BKR).
The 98 active U.S. natural gas rigs as of Friday compares with 130 rigs running in the year-earlier period, according to the BKR numbers, which are based partly on data from Enverus.
Land drilling was down two domestically to 567 week/week, while the number of rigs in the Gulf of Mexico held at 19, versus 18 a year ago. One directional rig was added in the United States, while horizontal rigs were down two on the week, and vertical rigs were off one from the prior week, BKR data show.
The Canadian rig count ended the period at 166, up six rigs week/week, but three below the 169 operating the same time a year ago. Two natural gas rigs and five oil rigs were added there, while miscellaneous rigs were down by one to zero.
Looking at changes by drilling region, Cana Woodford Basin, Haynesville Shale and Williston Basin each added one rig for the period, raising their totals to 17 rigs, 36 rigs and 308 rigs, respectively. The Cana Woodford had 23 rigs operating, the Haynesville with 50 and the Williston was at 35 a year earlier.
On the opposite side of the ledger, the Ardmore Woodford lost one rig week/week to finish at five rigs operating versus zero a year earlier. The Eagle Ford Shale and Permian Basin each dropped one rig from their respective totals. The Eagle Ford slipped to 50 rigs versus 60 a year earlier, while 308 rigs in the Permian were down 33 rigs year/year, BKR data show.
Looking at weekly changes by state, Texas dropped three rigs, lowering its count to 282 versus 345 a year earlier. Oklahoma lost two rigs to 34 from 42 the year earlier. North Dakota led the gainers, adding two rigs to 34, one up from the year-ago period. California and Louisiana each added one rig from the prior week to five rigs and 40 rigs operating in the states, respectively.
