Rig count pulls back in US and in Canada

The number of active drilling rigs in the US decreased by five from the week prior to 624. Oil rigs fell by one to 509, gas rigs decreased by four to 112, and miscellaneous rigs held steady at three.

In the week ended March 22, there were 134 fewer active US rigs compared to the same week last year. In this time oil rig counts have fallen by 84 and gas rigs by 50, while miscellaneous rigs are unchanged.

Canadian rigs

The number of operating oil and gas rigs in Canada declined by 38 to 169 this week. Canadian drilling experiences these seasonal declines every spring as warmer weather sets in and thawing ground conditions limit access to roads and sites. Oil rigs fell by 37 to 91 this week, while gas rigs declined by one to 78.

Drilling levels in Canada are up by four rigs compared to this time last year. The number of active oil rigs is up by five, and gas rigs are down by one.

International rig count

The international rig count is updated monthly. The total number of active rigs for the month of February was 958, down seven from January, but up 43 from February 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.