Year End 2017 U.S. Rig Count Up 45% Over 2016: S&P Global Platts Analytics

HOUSTON, Jan. 4, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- S&P Global Platts Analytics, today announced the U.S. rig count for December 2017 was 1,030, down 23 (-2%) from November 2017, and up 321 (+45%) from December 2016. This rig count includes U.S. onshore, U.S. inland waters, and U.S. offshore Gulf of Mexico drilling rigs.

  • December U.S. land rig count: 989, down 27 (-3%) from the previous month and up 317 (+47%) from December 2016
  • December U.S. inland waters and Gulf of Mexico rig count: 41, up 4 (11%) from the previous month and up 4 (11%) from December 2016

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S&P Global Platts Senior Industry Analyst Trey Cowan said: "The appetite for shallow conventional wells waned during December and accounted for nearly the entire pullback in drilling activity during the month. But the fact that horizontal drilling continued at a stable pace over the holidays suggests that underlying prices of oil and gas are at levels that will likely cause the overall U.S. rig count to climb during 2018."

S&P Global Platts U.S. Rig Counts

















December
2017

November
2017

Month
over
Month
Change

%
Change


December
2016

Variance
Year
over
Year
(YOY)

YOY %
Variance

Colorado

38

42

-4

-10%


26

12

46%

Louisiana

51

52

-1

-2%



21

70%

New Mexico

74

72

2

3%


32

42

131%

North Dakota

48

50

-2

-4%


36

12

33%

Oklahoma

125

125

0

0%


90

35

39%

Texas

489

491

-2

0%


336

153

46%

Rest of U.S. Land

164

184

-20

-11%


122

42

34%

U.S. Land Subtotal

989

1016

-27

-3%


672

317

47%

U.S. Inland Waters

6

6

0

0%


5

1

20%

U.S. Gulf of Mexico (GOM)

35

31

4

13%


32

3

9%

U.S. Inland and GOM

41

37

4

11%


37

4

11%

Total U.S. Rig Count

1,030

1,053

-23

-2%


709

321

45%

CONTACT
Kathleen Tanzy, + 1 917 331 4607, kathleen.tanzy@spglobal.com

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SOURCE S&P Global Platts

For further information: Kathleen Tanzy, + 1 917 331 4607, kathleen.tanzy@spglobal.com; Gregory Tsichlis, + 817 616 2081, greg.tsichlis@spglobal.com; EMEA: Arnaud Humblot +44 207 176 6685, arnaud.humblot@spglobal.com and Alex Brog +44 207 176 7645, alex.brog@spglobal.com; Singapore: Platts (platts@ryancommunication.com)