US rig count expands, Canada slips

The number of active rotary rigs in the US expanded by five to 626 from the previous week. Oil rigs were up by six to 503. Gas rigs were down one to 120, while miscellaneous rigs were flat at three.

The count of active US rigs is down by 127 from the same week last year when 753 rigs were in operation, according to the data from the oilfield services provider. There are 97 fewer oil rigs and 31 fewer gas rigs in operation, while the miscellaneous count is up by one to two.

Canada rigs

The number of operating oil and gas rigs in Canada moved down by three to 231 vs. the week prior. Oil rigs fell by three to 141, while gas rigs were unchanged at 90.

Drilling in Canada is also lower year over year. There are 13 fewer rigs running now vs. a year ago, with oil rigs down 17, and gas rigs up 4.

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.