The United States added nine rigs to grow its count to 1,080 for the week ended Friday (Dec. 21), helped by an uptick in oil-directed drilling including gains in the Williston Basin, according to data from Baker Hughes, a GE Company. The week/week (w/w) change to the U.S. count included the addition of 10 oil rigs, offsetting the loss of one natural gas-directed unit, putting the domestic count 149 units ahead of its year-ago tally of 931. The gains included eight units on land, with the Gulf of Mexico adding one rig to finish the week at 24, versus 19 in the year-ago period. Two directional units and two vertical units left the patch, offset by the addition of 13 horizontal units. Meanwhile, Canada saw its drilling count plummet heading into the Christmas holiday, with 37 oil-directed rigs and six gas-directed rigs packing up shop. That left the combined Canadian count at 131 for the week, down from 210 rigs running at this time last year, according to BHGE. The combined North American rig count stood at 1,211 for the week, up from 1,141 a year ago. Among plays, the biggest w/w gains came in the Williston — home […]
