Shallow Vertical Wells Get Lift in October; Overall U.S. Rig Count Remains Flat Versus September
Eyes on Colorado's Proposition 112 in November 6 Midterm Elections

HOUSTON, Nov. 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- S&P Global Platts Analytics, today announced the total U.S. rig count for October 2018 was 1,174, down 1 (0%) from September 2018, and up 126 (+12%) from October 2017. This rig count includes U.S. onshore, U.S. inland waters, and U.S. offshore Gulf of Mexico drilling rigs.

  • October U.S. land rig count: 1,144, down 2 (0%) from the previous month and up 124 (+12%) from October 2017
  • October U.S. inland waters and Gulf of Mexico rig count: , up 1 (+3%) from the previous month and up 2 (+7%) from October 2017

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"While month-over-month rig count performance is basically flat, it's worth taking a look under the hood, where we see an increase in rigs for drilling conventional, shallow natural gas wells, evidence that smaller-scale natural gas producers were taking advantage of the visibly stronger natural gas prices," said S&P Global Platts Analytics Senior Industry Analyst Trey Cowan

Natural gas prices, according to the spot, physical market price of Henry Hub, as assessed by S&P Global Platts, showed a rise of 8% during October.

"Colorado could hold the most volatility in the months ahead," said Cowan. "If Proposition 112* is approved at the U.S. November 6 Midterm Elections, we could see a rush to get wells drilled before permits expire and then a precipitous fall in drilling for the state."  

S&P Global Platts U.S. Rig Counts

















Oct 
2018

Sep
2018

Month
over
Month
Change

%
Change


Oct 
2017

Variance
Year
over
Year
(YOY)

YOY %
Variance

Colorado

35

37

-2

-5%


40

-5

-13%

Louisiana

53

49

4

8%


51

2

4%

New Mexico

89

98

-9

-9%


67

22

33%

North Dakota

60

60

0

0%


52

8

15%

Oklahoma

157

155

2

1%


134

23

17%

Texas

561

563

-2

0%


489

72

15%

Rest of U.S. Land

189

184

5

3%


187

2

1%

U.S. Land Subtotal

1,144

1,146

-2

0%


1,020

124

12%

U.S. Inland Waters

3

2

1

50%


6

-3

-50%

U.S. Gulf of Mexico

27

27

0

0%


22

5

23%

U.S. Inland and Gulf of Mexico

30

29

1

3%


28

2

7%

Total U.S. Rig Count

1,174

1,175

-1

0%


1,048

126

12%

*Colorado's Proposition 112 would require that any new oil and gas development be located at least 2500 feet from any structure intended for human occupancy.

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