Active rig counts recover in US, slip in Canada

In the week ended July 5, the number of active drilling rigs in the US moved up by four week over week to 585. Oil rigs were unchanged at 479, gas rigs rose by four to 101, and miscellaneous rigs were unchanged at five.

There were 95 fewer active US rigs compared to the same week last year. The number of active oil rigs is down by 61, gas rigs are down by 34, and miscellaneous rigs are unchanged.

Canada rigs

The number of rigs operating in Canada decreased by one last week to 175. Oil rigs dipped by one to 115, gas rigs increased by one to 60, and miscellaneous rigs decreased by one to a zero reading.

International rig count

The international rig count is updated monthly. The total number of active rigs for the month of June improved to 957, up 4 from May but down by 10 from levels one year prior.

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.