Count of active oil and gas drilling rigs in Texas climbed above 200 last week for the first time since May, according to Baker Hughes. The Houston-based services firm said as of March 5 there were 211 rigs in Permian Basin (208 previous week), 202 rigs in Texas (197 previous week), 61 rigs in New Mexico (62 previous week) and 403 rigs in U.S. (402 previous week). The last time Texas’ count was above 200 was May 1, 2020, when Baker Hughes reported 201 rigs (after starting 2020 with 404). Texas’ count of 202 is exactly half of the count one year ago.
Louisiana remains No. 3 in rig count among states with 45 (47 previous week) followed by Pennsylvania with 20 (unchanged), Oklahoma with 17 (unchanged), North Dakota with 13 (14 previous week) and West Virginia with 11 (unchanged). Haynesville remains No. 2 among regions with 46 (unchanged) followed by Marcellus with 31 (unchanged), Eagle Ford with 29 (unchanged) and Williston with 13 (14 previous week).
Enverus said as of March 4 most active operators in U.S. were EOG Resources with 22 rigs, Pioneer Natural Resources with 21, Devon Energy with 17, Occidental Petroleum with 15 and ConocoPhillips with 14. Pioneer’s count of 21 in Permian Basin is its highest since April 2020.
In Permian Basin, Lea County, N.M., remains the leader with 33 rigs (unchanged in past week) followed by Eddy County, N.M., with 28 (down 1 in past week). Martin County’s count is up 2 to 24, Howard is down 1 to 17, Loving is unchanged with 16 rigs, and Upton added 1 rig to 12.
• U.S. oil production declined 8 percent last year – the biggest one-year decline on record. U.S. Energy Information Administration said Tuesday after record production of 12.2 million barrels per day in 2019, U.S. averaged 11.3 million b/d in 2020 – down 935,000 barrels – during the pandemic. Production peaked at 12.8 million b/d in January 2020 and reached a low of 10.0 million b/d in May 2020.