U.S. Rig Count 6 February 2015

Rig Count Summary for 6 February 2015.  Source:  Baker Hughes

Principal Observations:

• The overall rig count is 1,456 down 87 rigs from last week and down 475 (25%) from the 2014 maximum.
• As a group, rig counts for the tight oil plays have decreased much more than for the shale gas plays (27% vs. 17%).
• Rig count for the tight oil plays decreased by 26 this week but the shale gas play rig count increased by 1.

Rig Count Summary by Play for 6 February 2015.  Source:  Baker Hughes

• There is a considerable spread in rig count changes among the various plays from 2014 maximum rig counts.
• Woodford, Fayetteville and Haynesville are the least affected by decreasing rig counts followed closely by Permian Horizontal rig counts.
• Overall, the Permian basin and Bakken rig count decreases are among the highest at -27% and -26%, respectively.
• Barnett, Granite Wash, Mississippi Lime and Other plays lead with the greatest rig count decreases from 2014 maxima.

Some of this makes perfect sense, like Barnett, Granite Wash and Mississippi Lime losing the most rigs because these are the worst plays from an economic perspective.

The persistently high rig count in the Haynesville Shale play is a mystery. It is down only one rig from its 2014 maximum. The resilience of the Fayetteville and Woodford is also problematic although Fayetteville might be explained by having basically only one operator–Southwestern Energy–that must maintain production.