Rig Count Increases in US, Falls in Canada

Active rigs in the US inched up by two to 618 from the previous week. Oil rigs jumped from 494 to 500, while gas rigs declined by four to 114. Miscellaneous rigs were unchanged at 4.

Compared to the same time last year, the US rig count is down by 164, with 123 fewer oil rigs and 43 fewer gas rigs. However, there are two more miscellaneous rigs.

Canadian Rig Count

Canada’s rig count is down for the week, falling by three from last week to 196. Oil rigs are off by two to 123 and gas rigs fell by one to 73.

The Canadian rig count is down by five compared to the same time one year ago, with oil rigs down by 12 while gas rigs are up by 7.

International Rig Count

The international rig count is updated monthly. The total number of active rigs during the month of October was 962, up 22 from the previous month, and increasing by 51 from October 2022.

The Baker Hughes rig count is important to the steel industry as it is a leading indicator of demand for oil country tubular goods (OCTG), a key end market for steel sheet.

A rotary rig rotates the drill pipe from the surface to either drill a new well or sidetrack an existing one. Wells are drilled to explore for, develop, and produce oil or natural gas. Baker Hughes’ rotary rig count includes only those rigs that are significant consumers of oilfield services and supplies.

For a history of the US and Canadian rig counts, visit the rig count page on our website.