Rig count dips slightly

The U.S. rig count dropped by four in the last week, according to Enverus Rig Analytics. The count is up 2% in the last month and up 101% in the last year.

At the beginning of August, the Denver-Julesburg (D-J) Basin hit a 2021 high of 16 rigs, an activity level not seen since early April 2020. The most active D-J Basin operator is Great Western Oil & Gas with two rigs.

Also in the Rockies region, the Powder River Basin rig count reached a high of 11 this year. Much like the D-J, activity is primarily comprised of single-rig operators. Only Anschutz Exploration and EOG Resources are running more than one rig in the Powder River Basin as of August 18, with two each. The Bakken rig count has risen as high as 24 in the first half of August and currently, the most active operators are Continental Resources with eight rigs and Marathon Oil with two. All other active Bakken drillers are running one rig each.

WTI crude futures in the U.S. were trading around $63/bbl as of Aug. 20, sliding for a seventh straight session toward three-month lows due to surging COVID-19 Delta variant cases. With oil prices up about 29% so far this year, several energy firms have said they plan to raise spending, which, however, remains small as most firms continue to focus on boosting cash flow, reducing debt and increasing shareholder returns.

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