Permian operators accelerate drilling programs in last month.
The U.S. rig count rose by 10 in the last week to 790 as of May 11, according to Enverus Foundations.
Activity levels are up 5% in the last month and up 49% YOY. The count reached as high as 790 during the last week, which is down by three compared to the prior week’s peak.
The Permian rig count was up 10 in the last week to a total of 306 between the Midland and Delaware basins. The Delaware rose by nine rigs to 177, while the Midland added one to reach 129. The Permian is also up by eight rigs on a monthly basis.
While there are always variations in the count due to rig downtime between wells, some operators did make sustained rig additions to their programs in the last month. Colgate Operating added a rig May 7 and one May 10, bringing its total to seven. Similarly, Apache holding company APA Corp. added two rigs since the start of May and is now running a total of four.
Occidental Petroleum started running 17 rigs in mid-April after averaging 15 in Q1. In the last month, the following companies each added a rig to their already active programs: Coterra Energy (now with seven rigs total), Patriot Resources (four), Centennial Resource Development (three), Marathon Oil (three), Spur Energy Partners (three), Discovery Operating (two) and Rio Oil & Gas (two).