Shallow Vertical Wells Get Lift in October; Overall U.S. Rig Count Remains Flat Versus September
Eyes on Colorado's Proposition 112 in November 6 Midterm Elections
HOUSTON, Nov. 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- S&P Global Platts Analytics, today announced the total U.S. rig count for October 2018 was 1,174, down 1 (0%) from September 2018, and up 126 (+12%) from October 2017. This rig count includes U.S. onshore, U.S. inland waters, and U.S. offshore Gulf of Mexico drilling rigs.
- October U.S. land rig count: 1,144, down 2 (0%) from the previous month and up 124 (+12%) from October 2017
- October U.S. inland waters and Gulf of Mexico rig count: , up 1 (+3%) from the previous month and up 2 (+7%) from October 2017
"While month-over-month rig count performance is basically flat, it's worth taking a look under the hood, where we see an increase in rigs for drilling conventional, shallow natural gas wells, evidence that smaller-scale natural gas producers were taking advantage of the visibly stronger natural gas prices," said S&P Global Platts Analytics Senior Industry Analyst Trey Cowan.
Natural gas prices, according to the spot, physical market price of Henry Hub, as assessed by S&P Global Platts, showed a rise of 8% during October.
"Colorado could hold the most volatility in the months ahead," said Cowan. "If Proposition 112* is approved at the U.S. November 6 Midterm Elections, we could see a rush to get wells drilled before permits expire and then a precipitous fall in drilling for the state."
S&P Global Platts U.S. Rig Counts |
||||||||
Oct |
Sep |
Month |
% |
Oct |
Variance |
YOY % |
||
Colorado |
35 |
37 |
-2 |
-5% |
40 |
-5 |
-13% |
|
Louisiana |
53 |
49 |
4 |
8% |
51 |
2 |
4% |
|
New Mexico |
89 |
98 |
-9 |
-9% |
67 |
22 |
33% |
|
North Dakota |
60 |
60 |
0 |
0% |
52 |
8 |
15% |
|
Oklahoma |
157 |
155 |
2 |
1% |
134 |
23 |
17% |
|
Texas |
561 |
563 |
-2 |
0% |
489 |
72 |
15% |
|
Rest of U.S. Land |
189 |
184 |
5 |
3% |
187 |
2 |
1% |
|
U.S. Land Subtotal |
1,144 |
1,146 |
-2 |
0% |
1,020 |
124 |
12% |
|
U.S. Inland Waters |
3 |
2 |
1 |
50% |
6 |
-3 |
-50% |
|
U.S. Gulf of Mexico |
27 |
27 |
0 |
0% |
22 |
5 |
23% |
|
U.S. Inland and Gulf of Mexico |
30 |
29 |
1 |
3% |
28 |
2 |
7% |
|
Total U.S. Rig Count |
1,174 |
1,175 |
-1 |
0% |
1,048 |
126 |
12% |
|
*Colorado's Proposition 112 would require that any new oil and gas development be located at least 2500 feet from any structure intended for human occupancy.
CONTACT
Kathleen Tanzy, + 1 917 331 4607, [email protected]
About S&P Global Platts
At S&P Global Platts, we provide the insights; you make better-informed trading and business decisions with confidence. We're the leading independent provider of information and benchmark prices for the commodities and energy markets. Customers in over 150 countries look to our expertise in news, pricing and analytics to deliver greater transparency and efficiency to markets. S&P Global Platts coverage includes oil and gas, power, petrochemicals, metals, agriculture and shipping.
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SOURCE S&P Global Platts
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