U.S. Oil Rigs Increase, Bakken Count Stays Flat
The Bakken-Three Forks rig count remained flat this week as Baker Hughes announces there are 22 rigs running across our coverage area by midday Friday.
In recent Bakken news, North Dakota officials remain optimistic about the state's health. Even though the state has seen a revenue shortfall, Gov Dalrymple says their economy remains strong. Even though the state has seen a revenue shortfall, Governor Jack Dalrymple Read more here.
A total of 407 oil and gas rigs were running across the United States this week, an increase of four over last week. 82 were targeting natural gas (five less than the previous week) and 325 were targeting oil in the U.S. (nine more than the previous week). The remainder were drilling service wells (e.g. disposal wells, injection wells, etc.) 22 of the rigs active in the U.S. were running in North Dakota.
Bakken Oil & Gas Rigs
Bakken oil rigs fell to 22 this week with Bloomberg reporting WTI oil prices slipping to $48.82 on Friday afternoon. WTI-Brent also gained some, increasing this week to $49.34. The Bakken has zero natural active gas rig in the area this week with futures trading to $2.41/mmbtu by midday.
McKenzie County continues to lead development with 11 rigs running this week, far outpacing other counties. View the full list below under the Bakken Drilling by County section.
Activity continues to be dominated by horizontal drilling:
- 22 rigs are drilling horizontal wells
- 0 rigs are drilling directional wells
- 0 rigs are drilling vertical wells
Bakken Drilling by County
What is the Rig Count?
The Bakken Shale Rig Count is an index of the total number of oil & gas drilling rigs running across Montana and North Dakota. The rigs referred to in this article are for ALL drilling reported by Baker Hughes and not solely wells targeting the Bakken formation. All land rigs and onshore rig data shown here are based upon industry estimates provided by the Baker Hughes Rig Count.
Read more at bakerhughes.com