Continued retrenchment in domestic drilling activity saw the U.S. natural gas rig count fall four units to 137 for the week ended Friday (May 26), the latest numbers from Baker Hughes Co. (BKR) show.
A decline of five oil-directed rigs saw the combined U.S. rig count drop to 711, down nine week/week and off 16 rigs from the year-earlier period, according to the BKR numbers, which are partly based on data from Enverus.
The latest declines extend double-digit losses in both the oil and natural gas counts over the past two weeks. Last week, BKR reported an 11-rig decline in oil-directed drilling. A week before that, a 16-rig drop in natural gas drilling caught the attention of commodity traders.
For the most recent period, land drilling declined by eight rigs domestically, with the Gulf of Mexico dropping one unit to end at 20, up from 15 a year ago. Declines of eight horizontal rigs and two vertical rigs were partly offset by a one-rig increase in directional drilling.
The Canadian rig count rose two units to 87 for the period, with a three-rig increase in oil drilling partly offset by the departure of one natural gas-directed rig overall. Canada’s count finished the period with 16 fewer rigs versus its year-earlier total.
Looking at changes among major drilling regions, the gassy Haynesville Shale posted the largest week/week decline, with three rigs packing up shop to leave the play with 54. That’s down from 69 in the year-ago period.
The Cana Woodford (down two), Barnett Shale (down one) and Denver Julesburg-Niobrara (down one) also posted declines week/week. The Eagle Ford Shale, Granite Wash and Permian Basin each added one rig during the period, according to BKR.
Counting by state, Oklahoma posted a five-rig drop for the period, with Louisiana and Utah each seeing declines of two rigs week/week. Alaska, Colorado and New Mexico each dropped one rig from their respective totals. On the other side of the ledger, Texas added two rigs, while Wyoming added one.
Employment in the Texas upstream oil and gas industry continued to rise in April but at a slower clip than the previous month, according to the recently released figures from the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association (TIPRO).
Direct employment in the exploration and production (E&P) sector totaled 199,400 for the month, up 700 jobs from March, TIPRO said, citing figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. By comparison, E&P employment in March rose by about 1,500 from February.
On a year/year basis, employment rose by 17,600 positions in April, including increases of 1,700 jobs in oil and natural gas extraction, and 15,900 jobs in the services sector.
