U.S. drillers are getting back to work in the new year, adding 30 rigs in the last week and bringing the total to 698 rigs as of Jan. 5, according to Enverus Rig Analytics.
The increase includes the Anadarko Basin which recorded the largest week-over-week growth, adding 9 rigs to reach a total of 66. The Gulf Coast saw a gain of six to 86 while the Permian Basin numbers grew by six to 273 active rigs.
The U.S. count is up 4% in the last month and up 78% YOY.
The rig count ended 2021 at 683 rigs, up by 81% or more than 300 rigs compared to YE20. The Anadarko Basin rose 244%, or 44 rigs, while the Williston Basin rose 138%, or 18 rigs. The DJ Basin increased 133%, or eight rigs, and the Gulf Coast added 40 rigs, or 108%.
The greatest absolute gain occurred in the Permian, with the addition of 106 rigs, or 65%. The major region with the least activity growth was Appalachia, where 10 rigs amounted to a 26% rise.
For Q4, the U.S. averaged 658 active rigs. This is up 14% compared to Q3 and up 74% compared to 4Q20. All major regions accelerated drilling activity, with the Permian up 23 rigs to an average of 255, the Gulf Coast up 12 to 77, the Anadarko up 10 to 57, the Williston up seven to 30, Appalachia up four to 47 and the DJ up two to 15.