Baker Hughes: US rig count dips slightly, while Canadian count soars

The US rig count dropped by one from the week prior to 621. Active oil rigs increased by one to 501, gas rigs fell from 120 to 118, and miscellaneous rigs went unchanged at two.

Compared to the same period one year ago, the US rig count is down 151. Oil rigs are off by 117, gas rigs declined by 34, and miscellaneous rigs are unchanged.

Canadian rig count

Canadian drilling firms boosted their active rig count, moving the overall count up by 39 to 125. Oil rigs moved up by 31 to 58 and gas rigs increased by eight to 67.

Year over year, Canada’s active rigs are down by 64. Oil rigs fell by 55, while gas rigs dipped by nine.

International rig count

The international rig count is updated monthly. The total number of active rigs during the month of December was 955, down 23 from the previous month, but increasing by 55 from December 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.