Baker Hughes: US rig count slips, Canada sees rise in activity

The US rig count dropped by two from the week prior to 619. Active oil rigs fell by two to 499, gas rigs fell from 118 to 117, and miscellaneous rigs increased by one to three.

Compared to the same period one year ago, the US rig count is off by 156. Oil rigs are down by 124, gas rigs declined by 33, and miscellaneous rigs are up by one.

Canadian rig count

Canadian drilling firms boosted their active rig count, moving the overall count up by 88 to 213. Oil rigs moved up by 75 to 133 and gas rigs increased by 13 to 80.

Year over year, Canada’s active rigs are down by 14. Oil rigs fell by eight, while gas rigs dropped by six.

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.