Baker Hughes: Canada drives North American rig count higher

An acceleration in upstream activity in Canadian oil led the North American rig count higher for the week ending June 4, Baker Hughes reported.

The Canadian rig count improved by 15 for the week, shifting the mix somewhat for overall drilling activity. For the previous week, through May 28, 45.2% of the exploration and production activity was in oil, with the rest in natural gas. With the gains in oil work this week, that mix is now 55.8% oil and 44.2% in natural gas.

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At 34, the rig count for natural gas activity in Canada was unchanged from the previous week.

Saskatchewan saw its rig count jump from 13 to 19 for the week, while Alberta was close behind with five additional rigs bringing the count to 42. Manitoba added two rigs to reach two, British Columbia added another rig for a total of 12 and, offshore, the rig count for Newfoundland improved by one to reach two.

Using data from Enverus, Baker Hughes does not break down oil and gas work to the provincial level.

In the US, the rig count declined by one. The Permian shale basin saw natural gas work stall with the loss of the single rig in service last week. The Haynesville shale in the US south saw its gas rig count increase by one to 47. In the Eagle Ford shale, the oil rig count improved by one to 32, while gas rigs declined by one to one. The Granite Wash basin, spread out over western Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle, saw its rig count decline by two to just one rig working in oil. In the Woodford shale, which covers virtually the entire state of Oklahoma, the rig count improved by one in oil to bring the regional total to three.

Offshore and the rig count remained unchanged, with all 13 rigs focused on oil exploration and production.

In the United States, 78.7% of the upstream activity is focused on oil, with 21.3% in natural gas.