Crude prices that have been heating up for months finally sent drilling activity into a full boil this week.
In its weekly rig count issued Friday, oilfield services firm Baker Hughes said the US rig count climbed by 22 – the biggest jump since February 2018 – to 635 rigs, reaching its highest level since April 2020. The count is 238 more than the 397 at work last February.
Rigs drilling for crude oil also had their biggest gain since February 2018, rising 19 to 516 rigs. That’s 210 more than the 306 drilling for oil a year ago. There were 118 rigs drilling for natural gas, up two for the week and 28 more than the 90 reported the previous February.
Texas added 13 rigs for 300 at work within the state, 107 more than the 193 counted last year. New Mexico remained unchanged at 92. North Dakota (3), Oklahoma (3), Pennsylvania (3) and Utah (2) joined Texas as producing states to see increases. Louisiana (1) and West Virginia were the only two producing states to see declines.
The Permian Basin rig count rose by seven to 301, 98 more than the 203 counted last year.
Lea County, New Mexico, remains the most active county in the Permian with 58 rigs, unchanged for the week. Eddy County, New Mexico, followed with 30 rigs, also unchanged for the week. Midland County reported 29 rigs, down one for the week. Martin County had 27 rigs, up three for the week while Reeves County reported 26, unchanged for the week. Howard County had 20 rigs, down one. Loving County added two rigs for 19 and Upton County also added two for 16 rigs.
Gaines and Terry counties saw no activity this week, each losing the one rig that had been at work within their counties. Irion and Kent counties saw renewed activity with each county added a rig.
Enverus Rig Analytics, which released its weekly rig count Feb. 9, said the US rig count rose one to 721, putting it 2 percent above where it was a month ago and up 69 percent year over year. The daily count reached as high as 734 during the week, compared to a peak of 724 during the prior week. The count hasn’t been as high as 734 since late March 2020 and is about 100 rigs below the 2020 high before the pandemic decimated drilling activity.
Drilling down to the play level, multiple under-the-radar areas have seen notable increases as the rig count has climbed. The Granite Wash hasn’t been this active since the third quarter of 2019, with the current count of 14 rigs up from just one — operated by Mewbourne Oil — a year ago. A total of 11 companies are now running rigs in the play, with Mewbourne still the most active at three.
The Eaglebine has seen a nine-rig increase in the last year to a total of 11 as of Feb. 9. This southeast Texas play stretches across Fayette, Brazos, Washington and Lee counties. Similar to the Granite Wash, 10 operators are drilling but only one is running multiple rigs—Magnolia Oil & Gas with a two-rig program. This company has been shifting operations from its Karnes acreage in the traditional Eagle Ford core to its Giddings area, which lies in the Eaglebine.
In Utah, the Uinta Basin has added eight rigs year over year and now has 11 running. The basin hasn’t had this much drilling activity in almost four and a half years. Six companies are actively drilling in Duchesne and Uinta counties, with four firms running multiple rigs. Private equity-backed XCL Resources is running three rigs, while EP Energy, Finley Resources and Koda Resources are running two each.
Other plays tallying increases of 100 percent or more year over year include the Barnett (plus six to nine), Bakken (plus 20 to 33), STACK (plus 12 to 20), SCOOP (plus 12 to 21) and Eagle Ford (plus 29 to 58).
In absolute terms, the Midland and Delaware basins have added the most rigs —4 2 and 41, respectively — to reach totals of 127 and 146 rigs.