Baker Hughes: US, Canada rig counts both down 44 units

The US drilling rig count dropped 44 units to reach 728 rigs working for the week ended Mar. 27, according to Baker Hughes data. The count is down 278 units from the 1,006 rigs working this time a year ago.

The number of rigs drilling on land fell 41 units week-over-week to a total of 710 rigs running. The number of rigs drilling in inland waters dropped by 2 units to 0. The number of rigs drilling offshore dropped by 1 to reach 18 rigs working for the week.

US oil-directed rigs decreased by 40 from last week to 624 units. A year ago, 816 units were drilling for oil. Gas-directed rigs decreased by 4 to 102 rigs, 88 fewer than were drilling for gas a year ago.

Only one of the major oil and gas-producing states—Utah—saw an increase in rigs week-over-week. With the addition of a single rig, the state hit 8 units working for the week.

Four states remained unchanged this week, namely Pennsylvania, 24; West Virginia, 15; California, 12; and Ohio, 9.

With the largest drop in rigs, Texas saw a 29-rig decrease to 368 rigs running. Oklahoma came in second with a 4-rig drop week over week to hit 39 rigs running.

New Mexico and Louisiana each dropped 3 units for the week to reach 109 and 44 rigs, respectively.

There were two fewer rigs in North Dakota and Colorado this week, as 48 and 19 rigs were running in the states, respectively.

Wyoming and Alaska each saw a single unit decrease in rigs to 19 and 9 units working, respectively.

Canada, too, dropped 44 rigs for the week. At 54 rigs, the count is 34 fewer than the 88 units drilling this week a year ago. A 34-rig drop brought the oil-directed rig count to 18 for the week. Gas-directed rigs in Canada decreased by 10 units to reach 36.