Last week the active U.S. rig count had its first decline since March 23, while the price of oil steadily rose before sinking below $64 over the weekend.
The U.S. combined oil and gas rig count — which had added 69 rigs in its 10-week gain streak — lost three rigs this past week and registered a mark of 1,059. That figure is up 126 year-over-year (YoY), or 13.5 percent. Data from oilfield services provider Baker Hughes shows the U.S. added one oil rig and lost four gas rigs, with its oil rig count of 863 now up 116 YoY (+15.5 percent) and its gas rig count of 194 up eight YoY (+4.3 percent). The U.S. miscellaneous rig count remained at two.
The U.S. combined rig count has increased by 130 so far through 24 weeks of 2018, which has included 18 weekly gains, five decreases and one hold.
Of last week's combined rig count, New Mexico and North Dakota each added three and Louisiana added one. Texas lost four and Alaska lost a pair, while Colorado, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia lost one apiece.
Below is the daily U.S. rig count provided by Drillinginfo on its DailyRigcount.com — a microsite that utilizes data from GPS tracking units and publicly-reported information to monitor oil and gas drilling rig movements in the U.S. Unlike raditional rig counts — such as those from Baker Hughes — typically define a rig as active only when it is "turning to the right," and have been released on Friday afternoons every week since 1944, whereas DailyRigCount defines a rig as active from the time a GPS tracking unit identifies it at a permitted oil and gas drilling location until the time it leaves, and is released daily.
Canada/North America
Canada's rig count has transitioned from a seasonal decline over the past several months to a seasonal increase. Canada gained 27 rigs last week, following gains of 13 and 18 the two weeks before, respectively. Its count rose to 139 on Friday, still down 20 YoY (-12.6 percent). That count had peaked at 342 in early February 2018 and bottomed out at 79 on May 11. Canada added 18 oil rigs last week and nine gas rigs, with its 69 gas rigs down by four YoY and its 52 gas rigs down by 16.
Friday's North American combined rig count of 1,198 increased by 24 from a week earlier and was up by 106 YoY, or 9.7 percent.
Oil Price Update
The price of WTI Crude oil rose steadily throughout most of last week until taking a nosedive Friday and over the weekend. Oil opened Monday, June 11 at $65.59 and held just above $66 the next two days before hovering in the upper $66-range for most of Wednesday. Oil peaked at $67.11 Thursday morning and held near $67 until Friday morning, when it started a sharp fall back below $65 by midday. It slid to a workweek close of $64.35 and continued to fall over the weekend, bottoming out at $63.68 early Sunday morning — its lowest mark since mid-January of this year. Oil recovered nicely Monday morning, opening at $63.85 and climbing above $65 by 7 a.m. CT. Oil was at $65.21 as of 8:50 a.m. CT
