January Rig Count Dips as it Follows the Bouncing Price of a Barrel - S&P Global Platts Analytics
If WTI steadies at current levels, rig counts may rise ahead

HOUSTON, Feb. 7, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- S&P Global Platts Analytics, today announced the total U.S. rig count for January 2019 was 1,113, down 34 (-3%) from December 2018, and up 18 (+2%) from January 2018. This rig count includes U.S. onshore, U.S. inland waters, and U.S. offshore Gulf of Mexico drilling rigs.

  • January U.S. land rig count: 1,084, down 32 (-3%) from the previous month and up 17 (+2%) from January 2018
  • January U.S. inland waters and Gulf of Mexico rig count: 29, down 2 (-6%) from the previous month and up 1 (+4%) vs January 2018

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"Heading into the new calendar year, oil prices were in a weakened state and trading below $50 per barrel (/b) of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude," said S&P Global Platts Senior Analyst Trey Cowan. "But in January, prices improved by about $7/b from the beginning to end-month, and it is this price rebound that is more telling than the sloughing off a few rigs over the month. Looking ahead, if WTI crude stays in the mid-$50/b area, we would expect the rig count to follow suit and show improvement in the weeks ahead."

S&P Global Platts U.S. Rig Counts

















Jan 2019

Dec  2018

Month over Month Change

% Change


Jan  2018

Variance Year over Year (YOY)

YOY % Variance

Colorado

33

38

-5

-13%


34

-1

-3%

Louisiana

49

43

6

14%


57

-8

-14%

New Mexico

94

97

-3

-3%


89

5

6%

North Dakota

61

61

0

0%


53

8

15%

Oklahoma

133

151

-18

-12%


129

4

3%

Texas

540

537

3

1%


528

12

2%

Rest of U.S. Land

174

189

-15

-8%


177

-3

-2%

U.S. Land Subtotal

1,084

1,116

-32

-3%


1,067

17

2%

U.S. Inland Waters

1

3

-2

-67%


3

-2

-67%

U.S. Gulf of Mexico

28

28

0

0%


25

3

12%

U.S. Inland and Gulf of Mexico

29

31

-2

-6%


28

1

4%

Total U.S. Rig Count

1,113

1,147

-34

-3%


1,095

18

2%

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)