In the recent past, US and Saudi drilling programs have exhibited an inverse relationship. The Saudis ramped aggressively into the downturn, and maintained elevated drilling levels while the US rig count crashed. Now as the US is ramping aggressively, the Saudis have toned things down a bit. Feature image credit: Instagram user …
Read More »As The Sharpest US Drilling Recovery Ever Continues, The Permian Is Being Left Out Now
In our previous weekly rig count update, we noted that Permian growth has been slowing and provided some thinking as to why. This week, Lower 48 drilling surged, printing its best weekly gain since January. But the Permian was notably absent from the party. We’ve got charts, stats and analysis on …
Read More »Breakneck Permian Rig Count Growth Is Cooling Off Now
Unconventional drilling in the Permian’s Midland and Delaware Basins has been increasing at a breakneck pace since 4Q16. Horizontal rigs going back to work on Midland and Delaware formations alone account for 1/3rd of the total increase in Lower 48 rig count since September 30, 2016. Over the past five weeks or …
Read More »It’s Becoming A Rig Seller’s Market When Contractors Showcase Spot Exposure Instead Of Backlog
Just a few months ago, US land rig management teams were still touting their long-term contracts as an asset. Highlighting backlog and term duration is a defensive posture contractors assume when operators have pricing power. Rig count can rise. Dayrates can trough. But until management teams start talking about spot …
Read More »US Land Rig Count Update For February 24, 2017
The US onshore rig count increased 3 rigs to 733 running last week. The US land rig count is now up 359 rigs from the May 2016 bottom. Much of these gains have come from the Permian, where growth is being driven by horizontal drilling in both the Midland Basin and the Delaware …
Read More »It Might Not Feel Like It, But Operators Are Still Winning As Land Rig Dayrates Rise
ConocoPhillips is baffled by recent dayrate hikes by the US land drillers. And they aren’t the only operators that feel this way we take a look at what ConocoPhillips’ CEO had to say about it and explore why the operators shouldn’t feel too bad about a few grand a day …
Read More »Bifurcated Permian Basin Growth Will Set Off Redundant Construction Booms
We are all talking about the Permian Basin a ton these days. But is this too general now? As the entire industry descends on the region, it has bifurcated into two distinct geo-markets from a surface perspective… There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the full update… To read …
Read More »Time To Clear The Yards
The US onshore rig count increased another 19 rigs to 689 running last week. All of this activity coming back means rigs are being moved out of the yards and into the field. This creates a veritable boom for rig movers. We uncovered some proprietary market intelligence on rig moves …
Read More »As 2017 E&P Budgets Kick In, Permian Rig Count Sizzles
After a brush back in the second week of the year, the US land rig count surged ahead last week. 2017 E&P budgets and drilling programs are kicking in and we expect continued strength over the next 4-6 weeks. Take out a free trial below to see our full analysis of …
Read More »Sometimes You Need To Take A Breather
Nothing can go up and to the right forever, especially not the rig count. The US onshore rig count fell back by six units this week. This break is actually a good thing and we explain why and break down the weekly rig count in in this post. There’s a …
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