Features

Active rig counts stabilize in US, slip in Canada

Written by Brett Linton


The number of active oil and gas drill rigs operating in the US last week held stable for the third consecutive week. At the same time, Canada’s counts declined slightly, according to the latest information from Baker Hughes.

US rig activity has been historically weak since June, hovering just above multi-year lows for four months. Canadian counts have ticked lower in recent weeks but remain strong.

US rig counts

Through Nov. 1, there were 585 drilling rigs operating in the US, unchanged from the prior week. The number of oil rigs fell by one week over week (w/w) to 479, gas rigs rose by one to 102, and miscellaneous rigs were unchanged at four.

There were 33 fewer active US rigs during the week compared to one year prior, with 17 fewer oil rigs and 16 fewer gas rigs.

Canadian rig counts

There were 213 active Canadian drilling rigs last week, three fewer than the previous week. Active oil rigs fell by four w/w to 146, and gas rigs rose by one to 67.

There are currently 17 more Canadian rigs in operation than a year ago, with 24 more oil rigs and seven fewer gas rigs.

International rig count

The international rig count is a monthly figure updated at the beginning of each month. The total number of active rigs in the month of October rose to 950, up three from September but down 12 from October last year.

The Baker Hughes rig count is important to the steel industry because 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. For a history of the US and Canadian rig counts, visit the rig count page on our website.

Brett Linton

Read more from Brett Linton

Latest in Features

Leibowitz on trade: What the election means for steel

I joined in a Steel Market Update community chat last week. Predictably, many of the questions concerned the likely results of a Trump or Harris victory in the election. Like most people, I don’t know who will win. But by next week I probably will know. Here is my take, with an emphasis on steel policy. There are a surprising number of similarities between the Democratic and Republican candidates’ positions on steel policy. In part, that is because both candidates are going after the same voters—steel workers, whether unionized or not.