Cana Woodford Leads Oklahoma Drilling Activity as Rig Count Holds Steady
As Oklahoma’s oil and gas drilling remained steady for another week, the most active drilling remained in the Cana Woodford.
The Baker Hughes Rig Report released Friday showed there were 22 rigs in the play located in the Anadarko Basin. The Cana Woodford is also known as the Anadarko-Woodford and is known as a major liquids-rich shale gas play in the state. It is also known for being one of the deepest horizontal plays at 8,000 to 16,000 feet. It was named the Cana after Canadian County where much of it is located, although the formation also is under several western Oklahoma counties.
Cana Woodford: A Deep, Liquids-Rich Shale Play
Production in the Cana-Woodford kicked off in the 1930s from conventional vertical wells, with the industry’s first horizontal well coming in 2007. In recent years, however, the counties that comprise the Cana fairway have been targeted for emerging oil plays, such as the SCOOP and STACK formations.
The continued concentration of drilling rigs in the Cana highlights its long-standing role in Oklahoma’s upstream oil and gas sector. Its depth, stacked pay potential, and liquids-rich production profile have made it a consistent focus for operators seeking both natural gas and associated liquids production.
Granite Wash Second Most Active
The Granite Wash, also located in western Oklahoma, was the second most active oil and gas play with 13 rigs.
The Ardmore Woodford remained at two rigs and the Arkoma Woodford continued with 3 active rigs. Oklahoma’s Mississippian went another week with no reported drilling activity.
The steady numbers reflect relative stability in Oklahoma’s rig count amid broader market conditions that have kept operators disciplined in capital spending.
National Rig Count Snapshot
The Permian Basin, the nation’s most active energy play, recorded an increase of one for a total of 240 oil and gas rigs. The Haynesville was unchanged at 52 and the Eagle Ford remained at 40 rigs.
The Marcellus play saw no change with 26 active rigs. The Williston continued with 28 and the Utica stayed at 14 rigs.
The D-J Basin in Colorado and southern Wyoming remained at 9 and the Barnett play of north Texas continued with one rig.
The latest Baker Hughes data shows a relatively stable national drilling landscape, with modest movement in key basins. Oklahoma’s consistency in the Cana Woodford mirrors broader industry trends of maintaining core acreage activity while responding cautiously to commodity prices and service costs.