US Oil & Gas Rig Tally Hits Record Lows for 15 Straight Weeks

In its weekly release, Baker Hughes Company BKR reported a drop in the U.S. rig count.

More on the Rig Count

Baker Hughes’ data, issued at the end of every week since 1944, helps energy service providers gauge the overall business environment of the oil and gas industry.

A change in the Houston-based oilfield service player’s rotary rig count affects demand for energy services like drilling, completion and production, provided by the likes of Halliburton Company HAL, Schlumberger Limited SLB and Transocean Ltd. RIG.

Details

Total US Rig Count Falls: Rigs engaged in the exploration and production of oil and natural gas in the United States fell to an all-time low of 244 in the week through Aug 14, compared with the prior-week count of 247. The current national rig count is below the prior year’s 935.

Investors should know that with the recent all-time low mark, the tally has touched record-low levels for 15 successive weeks, thanks to dented global energy demand owing to the coronavirus pandemic.

The number of onshore rigs in the week ending Aug 14 totaled 230 versus the previous week’s 235. However, the tally of rigs operating offshore plays through the week till Aug 14 was 13 versus the prior-week count of 12. Notably, one rig operated in inland waters as compared to no rig in the prior week.

US Removes 4 Oil Rig: Oil rig count was 172 in the week through Aug 14, compared with 176 in the week ended Aug 7. Notably, the tally has never dropped to such a low since July 2005. Also, the tally declined for three consecutive weeks. Investors should also note that the current tally of oil rigs, far from the peak of 1,609 attained in October 2014, is also below the year-ago 770.

Natural Gas Rig Count Increases in US: The natural gas rig count of 70 was higher than the prior-week count of 69. However, the count of rigs exploring the commodity is lower than the prior-year week’s 165. Importantly, per the latest report, the number of natural gas-directed rigs is 95.6% below the all-time high of 1,606 recorded in 2008.

Rig Count by Type: The number of vertical drilling rigs totaled 13 units, higher than the prior-week count of 12. However, the horizontal/directional rig count (encompassing new drilling technology with the ability to drill and extract gas from dense rock formations, also known as shale formations) of 231 was lower than the prior-week level of 235.

Gulf of Mexico (GoM) Rig Count Increases: The GoM rig count is 13 units, of which all were oil-directed. The count was higher than the prior-week count of 12.

Rig Count in The most Prolific Basin

Permian — the most prolific basin in the United States — saw a drop in oil rig tally by five in the week ended Aug 14. Importantly, the oil rig count dropped for three consecutive weeks in Permian.

Outlook

With oil prices recovering rapidly – the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude has improved more than 235% since late April – most analysts opine that the decline in weekly rig count will narrow down further. In fact, some analysts believe that if the recovery sustains, since more people are getting back to work on easing lockdown measures, many explorers will consider adding rigs.

Meanwhile, investors may keep an eye on two energy stocks which are expected to benefit if the oil price rally sustains – Devon Energy Corporation DVN and Diamondback Energy Inc. FANG. Both the stocks carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Source: Yahoo! Finance

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