Baker Hughes Announces April 2012 Rig Counts

HOUSTON, May 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Baker Hughes Incorporated (NYSE:BHI) announced today that the international rig count for April 2012 was 1,178, down 14 from the 1,192 counted in March 2012, and up 49 from the 1,129 counted in April  2011. The international offshore rig count for April 2012 was 299, down 4 from the 303 counted in March 2012 and up 6 from the 293 counted in April 2011. 

The average U.S. rig count for April 2012 was 1,961, down 18 from the 1,979 counted in March 2012 and up 171 from the 1,790 counted in April 2011.  The average Canadian rig count for April 2012 was 158, down 334 from the 492 counted in March 2012 and down 25 from the 183 counted in April 2011.

The worldwide rig count for April 2012 was 3,297, down 366 from the 3,663 counted in March 2012 and up 195 from the 3,102 counted in April 2011.      

April 2012 Rotary Rig Counts

About the Baker Hughes Rig Counts

The Baker Hughes Rotary Rig Counts are counts of the number of drilling rigs actively exploring for or developing oil or natural gas in the United States, Canada and international markets.  Baker Hughes has issued the rotary rig counts as a service to the petroleum industry since 1944, when Hughes Tool Company began weekly counts of US and Canadian drilling activity.  Baker Hughes initiated the monthly international rig count in 1975.

North American rig count data is scheduled to be released at noon central time on the last working day of each week.  The international rig count is scheduled to be released on the 5th working day of the month.  Additional detailed information on the Baker Hughes rig counts is available from our website.

Baker Hughes is a leading supplier of oilfield services, products, technology and systems to the worldwide oil and natural gas industry. The company's 57,000-plus employees today work in more than 80 countries helping customers find, evaluate, drill, produce, transport and process hydrocarbon resources. For more information on Baker Hughes' century-long history, visit www.bakerhughes.com.

SOURCE Baker Hughes