Enverus reports decline in US rig numbers

 

The U.S. rig count slumped by four in the last week to a total of 573 as of Aug. 18, 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 DJ Basin hit a 2021 high of 16 rigs, an activity level not seen since early April 2020. The basin’s activity was devastated by the pandemic, hit a low of just two rigs in June 2020 and averaged three rigs in 3Q20. So far in 3Q21, an average of 13 rigs have been running. The most active operator is Great Western Oil & Gas with two rigs.

The Powder River Basin also saw its activity levels plummet due to COVID. In July 2020, not a single rig was active in the basin. The count has reached as high as 11 this year. Much like the DJ, activity is primarily comprised of single-rig operators. Only Anschutz Exploration and EOG Resources are running more than one rig as of Aug. 18, with two apiece.

Rounding out the Rockies plays climbing out of a pandemic hole, the Bakken rig count has risen as high as 24 in the first half of August. Rig levels fell as low as nine in 2020 and did not really start to stage a comeback until Q2. 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.

Source: Enverus