Drilling, Rig Count Rising Consecutive Weeks
The number of rigs drilling for crude oil also rose three, to 506 rigs and also the highest since September, but still 86 rigs below the 592 reported last year.
Drilling activity continued at its highest level since September as the rig count rose for a second consecutive week. Oilfield services firm Baker Hughes said Friday the US rig count it has issued weekly since 1944 added three rigs for 629 rigs at work nationwide. That’s still 120 rigs or 16% below the 749 counted last year.
The number of rigs drilling for crude oil also rose three, to 506 rigs and also the highest since September, but still 86 rigs below the 592 reported last year. The number of rigs seeking natural gas dropped by one to 119 rigs, 35 fewer than the 154 drilling for natural gas the previous year.
Texas was the only major producing state to report a decline, dropping two rigs to 299 rigs active statewide and down 67 rigs from 366 last year. New Mexico added one rig for 103. Alaska (2), Oklahoma (1) and West Virginia (1) joined New Mexico as major producing states to see gains.
The Permian Basin added one rig for 315 rigs, down 34 rigs from 349 rigs drilling throughout the region last year.
Eddy County, New Mexico was the most active county in the Permian with 53 rigs, down two for the week. Lea County, New Mexico was second, adding three rigs – the largest gain among Permian counties – for 47 rigs.
Martin County had 36 rigs, down two for the week. Reeves County was down one rig for 25 while Loving County had 24 rigs for a second week. Upton County reported 20 rigs a second week. Midland County had 19 rigs at work within county lines, up two for the week. Reagan and Ward counties each reported 14 rigs, unchanged for Reagan and up one for Ward. Culberson and Howard counties each had 11 rigs, up one for Culberson and down one Howard.
Energy-focused Software as a Service firm Enverus said its US rig count for the week ended February 23 rose eight rigs to 676, still 170 rigs or 20% below the 846 counted last year. ConocoPhillips, EOG Resources and Occidental Petroleum each remained the top three US operators with 30 rigs each.
Enverus’ Permian rig count dropped one rig to 329 from 330 the previous week and is 43 rigs or 12% below the 372 counted last year. The most active play, the Delaware Basin, had 181 rigs, up three for the week but 18 rigs or 9% below the 199 seen last year. The second most active play, the Midland Basin, had 123 rigs, up one for the week but 25 rigs or 17% below the 148 counted last year.
In Enverus’ trailing 30-day drilling permits by region, the Permian had 700 permits as of February 9, down from 732 the previous week but up from 688 the prior year. The Permian also continued to gain in frac crews, with 123 as of February 9, up from 100 the previous week but below 149 last year.
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