Despite the increase in crude oil prices both in the US and overseas, the number of active oil and gas rigs in the U.S. fell by 12 in the past week reported the Texas based monitoring firm, Enverus Rig Analytics.
The company said numbers fell to 435 as of Feb. 10. However, Enverus said the count is still 5% higher over the last month but still down 47% from one year ago.
The count was as high as 452 in the past week. Enverus said the change between Feb. 7 and Feb. 10 is explained by rig downtime between wells. The count hasn’t been as high as 452 since April 22, 2020.
Still, interest in reactivating a lot of rigs in storage led to an increase of 49 rigs since the first of the year.
By play, the Midland Basin added the most, increasing by 19 to 88. Diamondback Energy added the most rigs at three to reach eight while two Midland Basin rigs each were added by CrownQuest Operating (now at six), Fasken Oil & Ranch Ltd. (two), Surge Operating (two) and the basin’s most-active operator, Pioneer Natural Resources (18).
The Delaware Basin rig count has increased by nine since the start of 2021 to reach 105, fueled by single rig increases. In the DJ Basin, Niobrara play activity rose 57%, or four rigs, to 11, also due to single rig increases by operators.
