In its weekly release, Houston-based oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI) reported a rise in the U.S. rig count (number of rigs searching for oil and gas in the country) to its highest level since November 7, 2008. This can be primarily attributed to an increase in the tally of land rigs.
The Baker Hughes rig count, issued since 1944, acts as an important yardstick for drilling contractors such as Transocean Inc. (RIG), Diamond Offshore (DO), Noble Corp. (NE), Nabors Industries (NBR), Patterson-UTI Energy (PTEN) and Helmerich & Payne (HP) in gauging the overall business environment of the oil and gas industry.
Weekly Summary
Rigs engaged in exploration and production in the U.S. totaled 1,991 for the week ended September 23, 2011. This is up by 6 from the previous week’s rig count and represents the second increase in as many weeks.
The current nationwide rig count is more than double that of the 6-year low of 876 (in the week ended June 12, 2009) and significantly exceeds the prior-year level of 1,650. It rose to a 22-year high in 2008, peaking at 2,031 in the weeks ending August 29 and September 12.
Rigs engaged in land operations climbed by 5 to 1,939, offshore drilling increased by 1 to 33, while inland waters activity remained steady at 19 rigs.
Natural Gas Rig Count
The natural gas rig count remained unchanged from last week’s level at 912. As per the most recent report, the number of gas-directed rigs, which slid to a 16-month low of 866 in May this year but has since recovered to reach its highest level in eight months, is down approximately 8% from its 2010 peak of 992, reached during mid-August.
In fact, the current natural gas rig count remains 43% below its all-time high of 1,606 reached in late summer 2008, but has rebounded strongly after bottoming out to a 7-year low of 665 on July 17, 2009. In the year-ago period, there were 967 active natural gas rigs.
Oil Rig Count
The oil rig count was up by 9 to 1,071, the second straight weekly gain. The current tally is considerably higher than the previous year’s rig count of 673. It has recovered strongly from a low of 179 in June 2009, rising almost 6 times.
Miscellaneous Rig Count
The miscellaneous rig count (primarily drilling for geothermal energy) at 8 was down by 3 from the previous week.
Rig Count by Type
The number of vertical drilling rigs rose by 2 to 609, while the horizontal/directional rig count (encompassing new drilling technology that has the ability to drill and extract gas from dense rock formations, also known as shale formations) was up by 4 at 1,382. In particular, horizontal rig units rose by 3 in the latest week to match the all-time high of 1,140 hit during the week ended August 26, 2011.
BAKER-HUGHES (BHI): Free Stock Analysis Report
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HELMERICH&PAYNE (HP): Free Stock Analysis Report
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NOBLE CORP (NE): Free Stock Analysis Report
PATTERSON-UTI (PTEN): Free Stock Analysis Report
TRANSOCEAN LTD (RIG): Free Stock Analysis Report
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