OCTG

US rig count recovers, Canada unchanged

February 9, 2024

Rig counts in the US and Canada were mixed for the week ended Feb. 9, with US totals moving up and Canadian holding unchanged week on week (w/w), Baker Hughes’ latest data shows.

US

The number of active rotary rigs in the US inched back up by four to 623. Oil rigs were unchanged at 499. Gas rigs recovered, adding four to 121. Miscellaneous rigs were flat at three.

The count of active US rigs is down by 138 from the same week last year when 761 rigs were in operation, according to the data from the oilfield services provider. There are 110 fewer oil rigs and 29 fewer gas rigs in operation, while the miscellaneous count is up by one to two.

Canada

The number of operating oil and gas rigs in Canada held at 232 vs. the week prior. Oil rigs were sideways, holding at 141, while gas rigs were also unchanged at 91.

Drilling in Canada is also lower year over year. There are 18 fewer rigs running now vs. a year ago.

International rig count

The international rig count is updated monthly. The total number of active rigs during January was 965, up 10 from December and up 64 from January 2023.

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.

David Schollaert

David Schollaert is deputy editor-in-chief for Steel Market Update. David joined SMU after more than a decade in the metals and mining industry in a myriad of different roles. Much of his early experience and expertise were within the coverage and analysis of steel-making raw materials and served previously as senior editor of the CRU Prices Service. Most recently, however, before his return to market analysis, David held roles as a metals buyer and an operations manager for raw material suppliers. He can be contacted at david@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-720-1008.