North American rig count declines by four
The Baker Hughes rig count for August 27 showed upstream work in North America declined, led by lower activity in Canada.
Using data provided by Enverus, Baker Hughes reported that the total North American rig count for the week ending August 27 was 655, four lower than the previous week.
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Canada accounted for the entire decline in North America, with the rig count dropping by nine from the week ending August 20.
The active rig counts in Alberta and Saskatchewan each declined by five during the week, while the rig situated offshore Newfoundland, at the Hibernia production platform, was listed as active, a change from the prior week.
Baker Hughes does not break oil and gas production down to the provincial level in Canada. There were 85 rigs working in oil, and 62 deployed for natural gas.
The US rig count improved by five from the previous week. The Permian basin led the gains, with an increase of two. The Woodford and Granite Wash shales, situated largely in Oklahoma, combined for a gain of three from the week ending August 20.
Baker Hughes divides Woodford into the Ardmore, Arkoma and Cana segments. Ardmore and Cana each gained a rig.
There are 14 rigs situated in the US waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Most of the operators have taken precautions to secure their installations and protect staff ahead of Tropical Storm Ida, which is expected to strike Louisiana as a major hurricane late Sunday.
Oil by far dominates the US upstream sector. There were 410 rigs working in oil during the week, compared to 97 in natural gas.
The North American rig count remains far lower than pre-pandemic levels. There were 1,054 rigs in service across the US and Canada for the comparable week in 2019.