Tag Archives: rig count

As expected, the Lower 48 rig count recovery is losing steam during 3Q17. Here’s 3 charts and thoughts on what it means for completions… There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update…  To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a …

In our latest US onshore rig count forecast (updated in April), we estimated that active drilling rigs would peak at 950 units this year. As we stand today with 934 rigs turning to the right, our prediction leaves only ~16 rig additions left until hitting a US drilling plateau in …

The combination of greater per rig retrofit investments and expanding inventory of upgrade candidates is the equivalent of newbuilding without building new. This kind of spending invites a whole crowd of previously shunned rigs into the exclusive super-spec club. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full …

Halliburton and Schlumberger have given two distinctly different outlooks on US rig count direction for the next three to six months over the past two business days. Interestingly, their arguments have departed from their normal advocacy tendencies. See how and who we agree more with in this update. There’s a …

We take a look at drilling permit demand in the hottest oilfield in the world. What does it mean for what comes next? Also, our regular weekly tables and charts derived by applying a little infill thinking and elbow grease to Baker Hughes rig count data. There’s a lot more …

There’s a new discussion topic posted in the Thinking Aloud forum. Most of our focus at InfillThinking.com this year has been on the Lower 48. That’s because most everything else is flat to down. With the oil price outlook under pressure and only the US tight oil plays growing, it’s time …

While the majors talk capex in terms of multi-year programs, the Independents that drive the Lower 48 drilling & completion markets are usually reticent to discuss specific year-ahead capex details until budget season (late-4Q / early 1Q). Last week an Independent talked specifics on their 2018 development plan – one …

With oil prices falling, it is worth noting what historical oil price / rig count relationships suggest about future drilling activity. In this update, we examine the oilfield reaction times that can be expected when oil prices move. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full …

For this update we took a quick look at month-to-date horizontal drilling permitting activity in the Permian Basin. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update…  To read this update and receive our research newsletters, you must be a member. If you are new to …

Yesterday morning, EQT consolidated the Marcellus Shale by acquiring Rice Energy for $6.7bn in a deal that creates the largest natural gas producer (>3Bcfpd) in the US.  The deal is expected to close in 4Q17. The combination and new strategic direction for the combined operator has material implications for the …