The number of oil and gas rigs running in the U.S. fell by nine in the last week to a total of 653 as of Nov. 17, according to Enverus Rig Analytics.
At the same time, the weekly report showed a slight uptick in drilling activity in Oklahoma’s Anadarko Basin. Enverus stated there was an increase of 3 rigs.
Nationally, the count is up 0.6% on the month and up 73% on the year. The most notable week-over-week changes occurred in the Permian, where the addition of 10 rigs brought the total to 263, and the Gulf Coast, where the nine-rig decline brought the tally to 75.
The week-over-week change in the Gulf Coast was driven by single-rig declines by individual operators. Four of those operators were running only one rig to begin with, resulting in the active operator count in the Gulf Coast dropping to 57 from 61. EOG Resources is the most active operator with six rigs running, followed by ConocoPhillips with four.
The number of rigs operating in the Permian Basin has hit a high not only on a YTD basis but for the last 19 months, although it is still off 133 from the 2020 high, from March 10 of that year.
Notably, Titus Oil & Gas recently increased to a three-rig program after averaging two since March, and CrownQuest Operating has accelerated to an eight-rig program after averaging six rigs thus far in Q4.
Discovery Natural Resources is running a two-rig program for the first time since 2019. At 14 rigs, EOG’s drilling activity is its highest so far this year.