The Bakken-Three Forks rig count rose to 70 rigs running across our coverage area by end of the week on Friday.
In recent Bakken news, Whiting petroleum announced second quarter earnings this week that highlighted record production and plans to complete 40 to 50 wells in the Bakken. As second quarter earning results are trickling, many companies are showing signs that they are shifting their priorities from growth to survival.
Read more: Oil and Gas Companies Enter Survival Mode
The U.S. rig count increased by 10, ending with 884 rigs running by midday Friday. A total of 213 rigs were targeting natural gas (four more than the previous week) and 670 were targeting oil in the U.S. (six more than the previous week). The remainder were drilling service wells (e.g. disposal wells, injection wells, etc.)71 are in ND alone.
Bakken Oil & Gas Rigs
The Bakken oil rigs increased at 70 rigs this week with Bloomberg reporting WTI oil prices trading at $44.02/bbl on Friday afternoon, a $2.89 decrease from the previous week. WTI-Brent decreased $3.33 landing to $48.65. The Bakken has zero natural active gas rig in the area this week with futures increasing to $2.80/mmbtu by midday.
McKenzie County continues to lead development and is running 26 running this week, while Williams (16) and Mountrail (11) followed behind. View the full list below under the Bakken Drilling by County section.
Activity continues to be dominated by horizontal drilling:
- 68 rigs are drilling horizontal wells
- 0 rigs are drilling directional wells
- 2 rigs are drilling vertical wells
Bakken Drilling by County
Bakken Oil & Gas News
Oil & Gas Companies Enter Survival Mode
Senate Committee Votes to Lift Oil Export Ban
Whiting Plans to Drop Bakken Rigs
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