U.S. Onshore Rig Count Drops 10, Unconventional Gas Takes a Hit

29th May 2015

The Baker Hughes U.S. onshore rig count returned to a decline this week, dropping 10 rigs compared to a gain of 2 rigs last week. The rig count has now declined by 1,030 (55%) from a November 2014 high of 1,876, to 846 on 29 May 2015. However, the three major unconventional oil-rich basins saw little change in rig count with the Eagle Ford gaining 3 rigs this week, and the Permian and Williston basin both dropping 1 rig each. Intraweek crude price volatility continued for the third week in a row with WTI dipping and rising several percentage points to remain relatively unchanged week-on-week closing at US$ 59.48 vs. US$ 59.71 last week.

Previous Weeks

22 May 2015 - U.S. Onshore Rig Count Increases For First Time Since November
15 May 2015 - U.S. Onshore Drops 6 Rigs; WTI Stable Week-on-Week
08 May 2015 - U.S. Onshore Rig Count Drops 11; OPEC Barrels or U.S. Storage?

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The majority of the active rig decline seen this week occurred in gas-rich unconventional basins with the Marcellus down 3, Fayetteville down 2, and Haynesville down 1 on the prior week. Gas prices dropped approximately 10% week-on-week from US$ 2.92/MMBtu to US$ 2.65/MMBtu.

Rigs active in the Gulf of Mexico gained 1 week-on-week bringing the total to 29 (17 oil focused and 12 gas focused).