Bakken Rig Count Unchanged as U.S. Increases

March 11, 2017 Elizabeth Alford

The Bakken-Three Forks rig count remained flat this week, with Baker Hughes reporting 38 rigs running across our coverage area by midday Friday.

In recent Bakken news, ExxonMobil executives announced their 2017 capital spending program to be around $22 billion, an increase of 16 percent from 2016. Of that amount, they will allocate $5.5 billion for drilling in Bakken Shale and Permian basin.

A total of 768 oil and gas rigs were running across the United States this week, an increase of 12 over than last week. 151 rigs targeted natural gas (five more than the previous week) and 617 were targeting oil in the U.S. (eight more than the previous week). The remainder were drilling service wells (e.g. disposal wells, injection wells, etc.) 37 of the rigs active in the U.S. were running in North Dakota.

Bakken Oil & Gas Rigs

Bakken oil rigs were at 38 this week with Bloomberg reporting WTI oil prices falling to $48.49 on Friday afternoon. The Bakken has zero natural active gas rig in the area this week with futures trading at $3.01/mmbtu by midday.

McKenzie County leads production in the region with 18 rigs running this week. View the full list below under the Bakken Drilling by County section.

Activity continues to be dominated by horizontal drilling:

38 rigs are drilling horizontal wells
0 rigs are drilling directional wells
0 rigs are drilling vertical wells

Rig Count 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.

Be sure to visit our Bakken Job Listings to search openings and come back weekly for updates or sign up for alerts - Daily or Weekly Email Alerts

Bakken Rig Count at 38 This Week

March 5, 2017 Elizabeth Alford

The Bakken-Three Forks rig count gained some momentum this week, with Baker Hughes reporting 38 rigs running across our coverage area by midday Friday.

In recent Bakken news, protests at the construction site of the Dakota Access Pipeline are coming to a close after almost a year of tension and confrontation.

A total of 756 oil and gas rigs were running across the United States this week, an increase of one over than last week. 146 rigs targeted natural gas (five less than the previous week) and 609 were targeting oil in the U.S. (seven more than the previous week). The remainder were drilling service wells (e.g. disposal wells, injection wells, etc.) 37 of the rigs active in the U.S. were running in North Dakota.

Bakken Oil & Gas Rigs

Bakken oil rigs were at 38 this week with Bloomberg reporting WTI oil prices decreasing to $53.33 on Friday afternoon. The Bakken has zero natural active gas rig in the area this week with futures trading at $2.83/mmbtu by midday.

McKenzie County leads production in the region with 18 rigs running this week. View the full list below under the Bakken Drilling by County section.

Activity continues to be dominated by horizontal drilling:

38 rigs are drilling horizontal wells
0 rigs are drilling directional wells
0 rigs are drilling vertical wells

Rig Count by County

What is the Rig Count?

Be sure to visit our Bakken Job Listings to search openings and come back weekly for updates or sign up for alerts - Daily or Weekly Email Alerts

Bakken Rig Count Drops

February 25, 2017 Elizabeth Alford

The Bakken-Three Forks rig count dropped again this week, with Baker Hughes reporting 35 rigs running across our coverage area by midday Friday.

In recent Bakken news, Marathon Oil announced their 2016 results last week including plans to increase Bakken Shale activity.

A total of 754 oil and gas rigs were running across the United States this week, an increase of four over than last week. 151 rigs targeted natural gas (2 less than the previous week) and 602 were targeting oil in the U.S. (five more than the previous week). The remainder were drilling service wells (e.g. disposal wells, injection wells, etc.) 34 of the rigs active in the U.S. were running in North Dakota.

Bakken Oil & Gas Rigs

Bakken oil rigs were at 35 this week with Bloomberg reporting WTI oil prices increasing to $53.99 on Friday afternoon. The Bakken has zero natural active gas rig in the area this week with futures trading at $2.79/mmbtu by midday.

McKenzie County leads production in the region with 18 rigs running this week. View the full list below under the Bakken Drilling by County section.

Activity continues to be dominated by horizontal drilling:

35 rigs are drilling horizontal wells
0 rigs are drilling directional wells
0 rigs are drilling vertical wells

Rig Count by County

What is the Rig Count?

Be sure to visit our Bakken Job Listings to search openings and come back weekly for updates or sign up for alerts - Daily or Weekly Email Alerts

Bakken Shale Rig Count Dips by One

May 27, 2016 Elizabeth Alford

The Bakken-Three Forks rig count dropped by one and ending the week with 22 rigs running across our coverage area by midday Friday.

A total of 403 oil and gas rigs were running across the United States this week, down nine from last week. 87 were targeting natural gas (two more than the previous week) and 316 were targeting oil in the U.S. (two less 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 rising to $49.27 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 $2.17/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

Be sure to visit our Bakken Job Listings to search openings and come back weekly for updates or sign up for alerts - Daily or Weekly Email Alerts

Bakken Drilling by County

What is the Rig Count?

Bakken Shale Rig Count Continues to Fall

May 16, 2016 Elizabeth Alford

The Bakken-Three Forks rig count fell this week with 24 rigs running across our coverage area by midday Friday.

A total of 405 oil and gas rigs were running across the United States this week, down nine from last week. 87 were targeting natural gas (one more than the previous week) and 318 were targeting oil in the U.S. (10 less than the previous week). The remainder were drilling service wells (e.g. disposal wells, injection wells, etc.)24 of the rigs active in the U.S. were running in North Dakota.

Bakken Oil & Gas Rigs

Bakken oil rigs fell to 24 this week with Bloomberg reporting WTI oil prices rising to $46.21 on Friday afternoon. WTI-Brent also gained some, increasing this week to $47.83. The Bakken has zero natural active gas rig in the area this week with futures trading to $2.10/mmbtu by midday.

McKenzie County continues to lead development with 12 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:

24 rigs are drilling horizontal wells
0 rigs are drilling directional wells
0 rigs are drilling vertical wells

Be sure to visit our Bakken Job Listings to search openings and come back weekly for updates or sign up for alerts - Daily or Weekly Email Alerts