Rig count continues to climb, with increases in Appalachian, Permian basins

The number of rigs running in the U.S. rose by eight in the last week with the Appalachian and Permian basins experiencing the largest week-over-week increases, gaining three rigs each, according to Enverus Rig Analytics.

Overall, the rig count is up 7% on the month and up 104% on the year. The most active counties as of Aug. 11 are Lea (41) and Eddy (32) in New Mexico and Martin (30), Midland (23), Loving (20) and Reeves (20) in Texas.

In the Permian Basin, 14 more rigs are running in Martin County, with Endeavor Energy Resources (7), Pioneer Natural Resources (7) and Exxon Mobil (3) fueling the increase. ConocoPhillips (+2), Ovintiv (+2) and Occidental (+1) reactivated rigs in the county as well. Compared to the second quarter, Midland County has 11 fewer active rigs. Pioneer reduced its Midland count to 10 from 18, and Endeavor Energy Resources went from four rigs to just one.

So far in the third county, the Appalachian Basin rig count has averaged 43, compared to 44 in the second quarter and 41 in the first quarter. Most active counties as of Aug. 11 are Ohio’s Monroe County and Pennsylvania’s Susquehanna County at four rigs apiece.

U.S. energy firms added the most oil rigs in a week since April as the total rig count more than doubled from a record low a year ago amid a recovery in crude prices. WTI crude futures in the U.S. were trading about $68/bbl Aug. 13, putting the benchmark up slightly for the week even though oil demand growth is slowing sharply due to the spread of coronavirus variants.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administrations, U.S. crude oil production is expected to fall by 160,000 bbl/d in 2021 to 11.12 million bbl/d, which is a smaller decline than its previous forecast for a drop of 210,000 bbl/d.


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