Bakken Rig Count -173 - Williston, ND Has Highest Avg. Rent in U.S.

February 21, 2014 Kirk Eggleston

The Bakken-Three Forks rig count decreased by 2 to 173 rigs running over the past week. The NDIC notes around 182 rigs are active in North Dakota, but around 17 of those are in the process of moving in and rigging up.

In recent Bakken news, A study done by Apartment Guidein February 2014 puts Williston, North Dakota in the top spot for highest average entry-level rent. According to the publication, a 700-square-foot, one-bedroom, one-bath apartment in Williston, North Dakota can cost more than $2000 per month.

The U.S. rig count increased by 7 to 1,771 running over the past week. A total of 342 rigs are targeting natural gas (5 more than last week) and 1,425 are targeting oil in the U.S. (2 more than last week). The remainder are drilling service wells (e.g. disposal wells, injection wells, etc.). 174 rigs are running in the Williston Basin across MT, ND, and SD, decreasing by two rigs from last week.

Not all rigs counted in our census are drilling for the Bakken, but it's close. The NDIC estimates 95% or more of activity in this region targets the Bakken and Three Forks formations.

Note: The NDIC reports 182 rigs are active in North Dakota. That is 9 more than Baker Hughes reports in the Bakken area. The difference is likely accounted for in the number of rigs actually working, rigs that might not be serviced by Baker Hughes AND rigs in areas outside of the Bakken fairway. On any given week, a certain number of rigs are in route to the next well location or idle waiting to drill the next well. The NDIC notes that around 17 rigs are in the process of moving in and rigging up.

Bakken Oil & Gas Rigs

The number of oil rigs decreased by 2 rigs running over the past week. WTI oil prices stayed relatively flat at $102.11/bbl by the end of the week. Williston Basin Sweet crude traded at $80.19/bbl on February 20th. The WTI-Brent remain about the same from last week, settling at ~$8 by the end of the week.

The natural gas rig count in the region held flat at zero. Natural gas futures (Henry Hub) were trading around $6.13/mmbtu by the end of the week. A little more than 10% of the production stream from the Bakken and Three Forks is attributable to natural gas and roughly half of that is NGLs.

McKenzie County continues to lead development with 57 rigs running. Dunn, Mountrail, and Williams counties are the only other counties with more than 27 rigs running each. View the full list below under the Bakken Drilling by County section.

Activity is dominated by horizontal drilling:

161 rigs are drilling horizontal wells
12 rigs are drilling directional wells
0 rigs are drilling vertical wells.

Bakken Oil & Gas News

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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 and/or Smith Service Co's (Schlumberger) Smith Rig Count.

Bakken Rig Count - 175 - Continental's Proved Reserves in Bakken - $14.5 Billion

February 14, 2014 Kirk Eggleston

The Bakken-Three Forks rig count stayed flat at 175 rigs running over the past week. The NDIC notes around 185 rigs are active in North Dakota, but around 12 of those are in the process of moving in and rigging up.

In recent Bakken news, Continental Resource's Bakken and Three Forks position contributed 741 million boe to the company’s proved reserves at an estimated value of $14.5 billion at the end of 2013. Continental is one of the largest operators in the Bakken Shale.

The U.S. rig count decreased by 7 to 1,764 running over the past week. A total of 337 rigs are targeting natural gas (14 less than last week) and 1,423 are targeting oil in the U.S. (7 less than last week). The remainder are drilling service wells (e.g. disposal wells, injection wells, etc.). 176 rigs are running in the Williston Basin across MT, ND, and SD, decreasing by one rig from last week.

Not all rigs counted in our census are drilling for the Bakken, but it's close. The NDIC estimates 95% or more of activity in this region targets the Bakken and Three Forks formations.

Note: The NDIC reports 185 rigs are active in North Dakota. That is 10 more than Baker Hughes reports in the Bakken area. The difference is likely accounted for in the number of rigs actually working, rigs that might not be serviced by Baker Hughes AND rigs in areas outside of the Bakken fairway. On any given week, a certain number of rigs are in route to the next well location or idle waiting to drill the next well. The NDIC notes that around 12 rigs are in the process of moving in and rigging up.

Bakken Oil & Gas Rigs

The number of oil rigs stayed flat at 175 rigs running over the past week. WTI oil prices stayed relatively flat at $100.26/bbl by the end of the week. Williston Basin Sweet crude traded at $82.19/bbl on February 13th. The WTI-Brent remain about the same from last week, settling at ~$8 by the end of the week.

The natural gas rig count in the region held flat at zero. Natural gas futures (Henry Hub) were trading around $5.24/mmbtu by the end of the week. A little more than 10% of the production stream from the Bakken and Three Forks is attributable to natural gas and roughly half of that is NGLs.

McKenzie County continues to lead development with 58 rigs running. Dunn, Mountrail, and Williams counties are the only other counties with more than 27 rigs running each. View the full list below under the Bakken Drilling by County section.

Activity is dominated by horizontal drilling:

163 rigs are drilling horizontal wells
12 rigs are drilling directional wells
0 rigs are drilling vertical wells.

Bakken Oil & Gas News

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 Rig Count - 175 - Bakken Shale Pushes Up Marathon Income in 2013 - February 7, 2014

February 7, 2014 Kirk Eggleston

The Bakken-Three Forks rig count decreased by one rig to 175 rigs running over the past week. The NDIC notes around 192 rigs are active in North Dakota, but around 19 of those are in the process of moving in and rigging up.

In recent Bakken news, Marathon Oil’s Bakken production helped drive the company’s North American E&P segment income to $529 million in 2013, compared to $382 million in 2012.

The U.S. rig count decreased by 14 to 1,771 running over the past week. A total of 351 rigs are targeting natural gas (7 less than last week) and 1,416 are targeting oil in the U.S. (6 less than last week). The remainder are drilling service wells (e.g. disposal wells, injection wells, etc.).177 rigs are running in the Williston Basin across MT, ND, and SD, increasing by two rigs from last week.

Not all rigs counted in our census are drilling for the Bakken, but it's close. The NDIC estimates 95% or more of activity in this region targets the Bakken and Three Forks formations.

Note: The NDIC reports 192 rigs are active in North Dakota. That is 17 more than Baker Hughes reports in the Bakken area. The difference is likely accounted for in the number of rigs actually working, rigs that might not be serviced by Baker Hughes AND rigs in areas outside of the Bakken fairway. On any given week, a certain number of rigs are in route to the next well location or idle waiting to drill the next well. The NDIC notes that around 19 rigs are in the process of moving in and rigging up.

Bakken Oil & Gas Rigs

The number of oil rigs decreased by one rig to 175 rigs running over the past week. WTI oil prices increased slightly, hitting $100.12/bbl by the end of the week. Williston Basin Sweet crude traded at $81.44/bbl on February 7th. The WTI-Brent closed up some from last week, settling at ~$9 by the end of the week.

The natural gas rig count in the region held flat at zero. Natural gas futures (Henry Hub) were trading around $4.77/mmbtu by the end of the week. A little more than 10% of the production stream from the Bakken and Three Forks is attributable to natural gas and roughly half of that is NGLs.

McKenzie County continues to lead development with 57 rigs running. Dunn, Mountrail, and Williams counties are the only other counties with more than 27 rigs running each. View the full list below under the Bakken Drilling by County section.

Activity is dominated by horizontal drilling:

163 rigs are drilling horizontal wells
12 rigs are drilling directional wells
0 rigs are drilling vertical wells.

Bakken Oil & Gas News

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 Rig Count - 176 - ConocoPhillips Bakken Production Up 80% in Q4 2013 - January 31, 2014

February 3, 2014 Kirk Eggleston

The Bakken-Three Forks rig count stayed flat at 176 rigs running over the past week. The NDIC notes around 190 rigs are active in North Dakota, but around 13 of those are in the process of moving in and rigging up.

In recent Bakken news, Conoco Phillips' Bakken Production hits 43,000 boe/d in Q4 2013. The Bakken makes up ~12% of Conoco Phillips Lower 48 Production

The U.S. rig count increased by 8 to 1,785 running over the past week. A total of 358 rigs are targeting natural gas (2 more than last week) and 1,422 are targeting oil in the U.S. (6 more than last week). The remainder are drilling service wells (e.g. disposal wells, injection wells, etc.). 179 rigs are running in the Williston Basin across MT, ND, and SD, staying flat from last week.

Not all rigs counted in our census are drilling for the Bakken, but it's close. The NDIC estimates 95% or more of activity in this region targets the Bakken and Three Forks formations.

Note: The NDIC reports 190 rigs are active in North Dakota. That is 14 more than Baker Hughes reports in the Bakken area. The difference is likely accounted for in the number of rigs actually working, rigs that might not be serviced by Baker Hughes AND rigs in areas outside of the Bakken fairway. On any given week, a certain number of rigs are in route to the next well location or idle waiting to drill the next well. The NDIC notes that around 13 rigs are in the process of moving in and rigging up.

Bakken Oil & Gas Rigs

The number of oil rigs running stayed flat at 176. WTI oil prices increased slightly, hitting $97.91/bbl by the end of the week. Williston Basin Sweet crude traded at $79.19/bbl on January 31st. The WTI-Brent closed up some from last week, settling at ~$12 by the end of the week.

The natural gas rig count in the region held flat at zero. Natural gas futures (Henry Hub) were trading around $4.85/mmbtu by the end of the week. A little more than 10% of the production stream from the Bakken and Three Forks is attributable to natural gas and roughly half of that is NGLs.

McKenzie County continues to lead development with 56 rigs running. Dunn, Mountrail, and Williams counties are the only other counties with more than 25 rigs running each. View the full list below under the Bakken Drilling by County section.

Activity is dominated by horizontal drilling:

159 rigs are drilling horizontal wells
15 rigs are drilling directional wells
2 rigs are drilling vertical wells.

Bakken Oil & Gas News

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 Rig Count 175 - Production Approaching 1 Million b/d - Jan 17, 2013

January 20, 2014 Kirk Eggleston

The Bakken-Three Forks rig count decreased by one to 175 running over the past week. The NDIC notes around 187 rigs are active in North Dakota, but around 17 of those are in the process of moving in and rigging up.

The NDIC's Director's Cut revealed that The Bakken and Three Forks region is on the verge of becoming one the most prolific oilfields in history. With more than 10,000 wells producing in the month of November, it doesn't appear that it will be long before production hits 1-million b/d.

The U.S. rig count increased by twenty-three (23) rigs from 1,754 to 1,777 running over the past week. A total of 365 rigs are targeting natural gas (8 more than last week) and 1,408 are targeting oil in the U.S. (15 more than last week). The remainder are drilling service wells (e.g. disposal wells, injection wells, etc.). 178 rigs are running in the Williston Basin across MT, ND, and SD. That's down one from last week.

Not all rigs counted in our census are drilling for the Bakken, but it's close. The NDIC estimates 95% or more of activity in this region targets the Bakken and Three Forks formations.

Note: The NDIC reports 187 rigs are active in North Dakota. That is 12 more than Baker Hughes reports in the Bakken area. The difference is likely accounted for in the number of rigs actually working, rigs that might not be serviced by Baker Hughes AND rigs in areas outside of the Bakken fairway. On any given week, a certain number of rigs are in route to the next well location or idle waiting to drill the next well. The NDIC notes that around 17 rigs are in the process of moving in and rigging up.

Bakken Oil & Gas Rigs

[ic-l]The number of oil rigs running decreased by one to 175. WTI oil prices increased slightly, hitting $93.72/bbl by the end of the week. Williston Basin Sweet crude traded at $75.94/bbl on January 17th. The WTI-Brent opened up some from last week, settling a little under $13 by the end of the week.

The natural gas rig count in the region held flat at zero. Natural gas futures (Henry Hub) were trading around $4/mmbtu by the end of the week. A little more than 10% of the production stream from the Bakken and Three Forks is attributable to natural gas and roughly half of that is NGLs.

McKenzie County continues to lead development with 55 rigs running. Dunn, Mountrail, and Williams counties are the only other counties with more than 25 rigs running each. View the full list below.

Activity is dominated by horizontal drilling: 159 rigs are drilling horizontal wells, 15 rigs are drilling directional wells, and 1 rig is drilling a vertical well.

Bakken Oil & Gas News

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