Yes, this week there are 1713 rigs in operation in the US, that number includes land and offshore rigs. Last year at this time, there were only 1141 rigs in operation in the US.
Thanks for the reply. I was also googling after I posted. Drill counts are an interesting piece of data to track.
In my area drilling had taken a hard hit right at the end of ‘08, but I see it rebounding now. So the data confirms what I see. Drilling isn’t at the rate it was at its peak, but it is back strong, at least onshore.
Offshore Gulf of Mexico is running at about 50% utilization, apparently. Half the rigs are working. So there is room for improvement there. Hopefully those guys will go back to work soon.
I saw an interesting article the other day about an offshore complex Chevron is planning about 250 miles offshore. That caught my attention.