Constant rig activity in Oklahoma

Oklahoma’s oil and gas plays saw no change in the number of rigs breaking the horizon over the past week, according to the most recent Baker Hughes Rig Count.

The Cana Woodford continued with the highest number of rigs at 20 and it was followed closely by the Granite Wash play with 17 rigs.

Minimal drilling was reported in the Ardmore and Arkoma Woodfords. One rig was reported in each of the plays. The Mississippian remained void of any reported drilling activity, based on the Baker Hughes report.

Oklahoma’s total rig count was 43 in the past week, down from the 55 rigs reported one year ago.

The Permian Basin, the most active oil and gas play in the U.S., recorded a drop of one rig, leaving 241 others actively in pursuit of more fossil fuel.

The Williston in North Dakota and Montana was unchanged with 28 active rigs and the Haynesville gained 2 rigs to reach a total of 58 in east Texas and the state of Louisiana.

There was an increase of one rig in the Eagle Ford of South Texas where the count reached 43. The Marcellus saw no change with its count of 25 rigs. The Utica continued with 12 and the D-J Niobrara remained at 9.

The Barnett in North Texas had one rig.

Permian Basin

Known as the country’s most active oil play, the Permian is made up of three basins. the Delaware Basin extends more than 10,000 square miles and is the deepest of the Permian. It was largely ignored for decades until fracking and horizontal drilling technology came along. The average cost of a well in the Delaware is reported to be $6-$8 million.

The Midland Basin in the Permian covers about 13,000 square miles of West Texas and spans 20 counties. Its drilling efforts are mostly at depth of between 7,000 and 10,000 feet.