In its weekly release, Houston-based oilfield services company
Baker Hughes Inc.
(
BHI
) reported a dip in the U.S. rig count (number of rigs searching
for oil and gas in the country). This can be attributed to a
decrease in the tally of both oil and natural gas-directed rigs. In
particular, the natural gas rig count dropped for the seventh time
in 8 weeks to touch another near 13-year low.
The Baker Hughes rig count, issued since 1944, acts as an
important yardstick for drilling contractors such as
Transocean Inc.
(
RIG
),
Diamond Offshore
(
DO
),
Noble Corp.
(
NE
),
Nabors Industries
(
NBR
),
Patterson-UTI Energy
(
PTEN
),
Helmerich & Payne
(
HP
), etc. in gauging the overall business environment of the oil and
gas industry.
Analysis of the Data
Weekly Summary:
Rigs engaged in exploration and production in the U.S. totaled
1,971 for the week ended June 15, 2012. This was down by 13 from
the previous week's count and represents the third decrease in the
past 4 weeks.
Despite this, the current nationwide rig count is more than
double that of the 6-year low of 876 (in the week ended June 12,
2009) and significantly exceeds the prior-year level of 1,860. It
rose to a 22-year high in 2008, peaking at 2,031 in the weeks
ending August 29 and September 12.
Rigs engaged in land operations descended by 15 to 1,899, while
offshore drilling was up by 2 to 51 rigs. Meanwhile, inland waters
activity remained steady at 21 units.
Natural Gas Rig Count:
The natural gas rig count decreased for the seventh time in 8 weeks
to 562 (a drop of 3 rigs from the previous week). As per the most
recent report, the number of gas-directed rigs is at their lowest
level since September 10, 1999 and is down approximately 40% from
its 2011 peak of 936, reached during mid-October.
The current natural gas rig count remains 65% below its all-time
high of 1,606 reached in late summer 2008. In the year-ago period,
there were 870 active natural gas rigs.
Oil Rig Count:
The oil rig count - which hit a 25-year high of 1,414 in the
previous week - was down by 9 to 1,405. Nevertheless, the current
tally is way above the previous year's rig count of 984. It has
recovered strongly from a low of 179 in June 2009, rising
approximately 7.9 times.
Miscellaneous Rig Count:
The miscellaneous rig count (primarily drilling for geothermal
energy) at 4 was down by 1 from the previous week.
Rig Count by Type:
The number of vertical drilling rigs rose by 4 to 576, while the
horizontal/directional rig count (encompassing new drilling
technology that has the ability to drill and extract gas from dense
rock formations, also known as shale formations) was down by 17 at
1,395. In particular, horizontal rig units - that reached an
all-time high of 1,193 in May this year - decreased by 15 from last
week's level to 1,162.
BAKER-HUGHES (BHI): Free Stock Analysis Report
DIAMOND OFFSHOR (DO): Free Stock Analysis
Report
HELMERICH&PAYNE (HP): Free Stock Analysis
Report
NABORS IND (NBR): Free Stock Analysis Report
NOBLE CORP (NE): Free Stock Analysis Report
PATTERSON-UTI (PTEN): Free Stock Analysis
Report
TRANSOCEAN LTD (RIG): Free Stock Analysis
Report
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