Baker Hughes has issued the rotary rig counts as a service to the petroleum industry since 1944, when Hughes Tool Company began weekly counts of US and Canadian drilling activity. Hughes initiated the monthly international rig count in 1975. The North American rig count is released weekly at noon central time on the last day of the work week. The international rig count is released before the market opens on the fifth working day of each month.
The Baker Hughes Rig Counts are an important business barometer for the drilling industry and its suppliers. When drilling rigs are active they consume products and services produced by the oil service industry. The active rig count acts as a leading indicator of demand for products used in drilling, completing, producing and processing hydrocarbons.
Baker Hughes Rig Counts are published by major newspapers and trade publications, are referred to frequently by journalists, economists, security analysts and government officials, and are included in many industry statistical reports. Because they have been compiled consistently for 60 years, Baker Hughes Rig Counts also are useful in historical analysis of the industry.
The working rig location information is provided in part by RigData.
Baker Hughes Rig Counts are available by calling 1-800-969-RIGS (1-800-969-7447).
Rig count trends are governed by oil company exploration and development spending, which in turn is influenced by the current and expected price of oil and natural gas. Rig counts therefore reflect the strength and stability of energy prices. However, there are many other factors at work, including:
Technology:
Minimizes the number of wells required to develop a reservoir
Maximizes production from new and existing fields
Increases the operational efficiency of the active drilling fleet
Opens new frontiers for exploration ( such as deepwater areas)
Weather:
Interferes with the logistics of drilling schedules.
Seasonal weather patterns such as the Spring thaw in Canada can have a profound impact on activity, with soft, wet ground making it difficult to move rigs and set up new sites.
Severe weather such as hurricanes can impact the rig count by forcing the evacuation of personnel from offshore platforms and delaying rig moves to new locations.
Seasonal spending patterns:
Rig counts rise and fall with company budgeting and spending cycles
U.S. drilling activity often declines in the first quarter as prior year drilling programs expire. Activity then rises for the rest of the year, peaking in December to fulfill
drilling commitments before budgets and leaseholds expire.
Other factors:
Local taxation policies,
Government sanctions
Political unrest
Development of new infrastructure (such as roads and pipelines)
Availability of capital investment
What is a rotary rig?
A rotary rig rotates the drill pipe from surface to drill a new well (or sidetracking an existing one) to explore for, develop and produce oil or natural gas. The Baker Hughes Rotary Rig count includes only those rigs that are significant consumers of oilfield services and supplies and does not include cable tool rigs, very small truck mounted rigs or rigs that can operate without a permit. Non-rotary rigs may be included in the count based on how they are employed. For example, coiled tubing and workover rigs employed in drilling new wells are included in the count.
When is a rotary rig "active" ?
To be counted as active a rig must be on location and be drilling or 'turning to the right'. A rig is considered active from the moment the well is "spudded" until it reaches target depth or "TD". Rigs that are in transit from one location to another, rigging up or being used in non-drilling activities such as workovers, completions or production testing, are NOT counted as active.
What makes the Baker Hughes Rig Count unique?
Other companies define activity differently than Baker Hughes, and their counts may include rigs that are available or contracted but not actively drilling. These counts provide a census of rigs available for work rather than those actually working.
What is the North American Rotary Rig Count?
The Baker Hughes North American Rotary Rig Count is a weekly census of the number of drilling rigs actively exploring for or developing oil or natural gas in the United States and Canada.
How is the rotary rig count performed?
Hughes Christensen field representatives maintain frequent contact with all operating rigs in their district, whether they are using Hughes Christensen bits or not. This close contact with the customer enables the company to track the number of active rigs in each area. District offices throughout the United States and Canada gather rig activity information and report by midnight on Thursday of each week for Friday publication.
What other information is available about the rigs?
Over the years, the weekly U.S. rotary rig count has been extended to include additional information or subsets of the total count. These "splits" include the number of rigs drilling on land, in inland waters and offshore. In addition the weekly US count includes a split of rigs drilling for oil or natural gas and the number drilling directional and horizontal wells. Other geographic splits are available such as the North and South counts for Louisiana and the Railroad Commission Districts of Texas. The various rig count subsets may cover different time spans.
When was the highest and lowest active rig count recorded?
Since 1940 the highest weekly US rig count was 4,530 recorded on December 28, 1981. The lowest rig count of 488 was recorded on April 23, 1999. In Canada the highest weekly rig count of 718 was recorded on February 17,2006. The lowest weekly rotary rig count of 29 was recorded on April 24,1992.
What is the International Rotary Rig Count?
The Baker Hughes International Rotary Rig Count is a monthly census of active drilling rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas outside North America (U.S. and Canada). Due to the difficulty of data collection, the Baker Hughes International Rotary Rig Count does not include rigs drilling in Russia or onshore China.
When is an International rotary rig "active"?
To be counted as active, an international rig must be drilling at least 15 days during the month. A rig is considered drilling if it is turning to the right (i.e. the well is underway but has not reached the target depth or T.D.). Rigs that are in transit from one location to another, rigging up, drilling less than 15 days or are being used in non-drilling activities including production testing, completion, and workover's are not included in the active rig count.
How is the International rotary rig count performed?
Hughes Christensen field representatives maintain frequent contact with all operating rigs in their district, whether they are using Hughes Christensen bits or not. This close contact with the customer enables the company to track the number of active rigs in each area. Regional offices throughout the world gather rig activity information and report by the end of the month for publication on the 5th working day of the following month.
What other information is available about the International rigs?
The monthly Baker Hughes International Rotary Rig Count presents the number of rigs working in each country, drilling on land or offshore, and drilling for oil, natural gas or for other purposes.
When was the highest and lowest international rig count?
Since 1975 the highest international rig count was 1,509, recorded in November 1982. The lowest international rig count of 556 was recorded in August 1999.
Do you have another question that hasn't been answered?
Please submit your question using the form below. Fields marked with an * are required.
File Downloads
What rig data is contained in the North American Rotary Rig Counts files?
US Rig Report - an Excel file with 13 tabs, as described below. Published each Friday at noon central U.S. time.
Current Weekly Summary
Current Weekly by State
Land & Offshore Split by State
1949-2008 Rigs by Week
Canadian Land & Offshore Split
Canadian Split by Province
1964-2008 Canada Rig Count
Canadian Oil & Gas Split
US Oil & Gas Split
Gulf of Mexico Split
GOM by Week 1985-2008
GOM Historical Yearly Average 1959-2007
1991-2008 Drilling Type
Rigs by State - an Excel file with current and historical rig counts by State dating back to 2000. Published each Friday at noon central U.S. time.
Rigs by State - a PDF file with current month rig counts by State. Published each Friday at noon central U.S. time.
NA Rig Charts - a PDF file with current rig count data in chart form. Published each Friday at noon central U.S. time.
U.S. Annual Average by State 1987 - 2007 (weekly) - an Excel file updated at the end of each year.
U.S. Monthly Averages by State 1987- 2007 (weekly) - an Excel file updated at the end of each year.
What rig data is contained in International Rig Counts files?
International Rig Count Spreadsheet (monthly) - an Excel file with the following current and historical data. Published the 5th business day of each month.
Current Land and Offshore Split
Current Oil & Gas Split
1982 - 2008 Land and Offshore Split by Month
1995 - 2008 Oil & Gas Split by Month
Worldwide Rig Count - available in both Excel and PDF formats. Contains rig data from 1975 - 2008 by month. Published the 5th business day of each month
North America Rotary Rig Counts – Current Week Data
Questions on the Baker Hughes Rig Counts can be directed to:
Gary Flaharty or Gene Shiels
Baker Hughes Incorporated
2929 Allen Parkway, Suite 2100
P.O. Box 4740
Houston, TX 77210-4740
713-439-8039
PLEASE DIRECT ALL OTHER INQUIRIES OR QUESTIONS TO THE MAIN NUMBER:
713-439-8600
EMPLOYMENT INQUIRIES
All available jobs with Baker Hughes are listed on our Careers website. Please reference this site in lieu of making phone inquiries.
Welcome to the new Baker Hughes Rig Count Blog. Our team of experienced analysts will use this blog to help you get more insight into what the latest rig count numbers mean.
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