Baker Hughes US Land Weekly Rig Report - April 16 2021

This week, the Baker Hughes US Land Weekly Rig Count increased by 5 rigs to finish at 426 active rigs. The Permian added 3 rigs, the Midcon added 2 rigs and the Bakken added 1 rig. The Northeast lost 1 rig this week.

In a recent World Oil article (click here for the article), they stated that the glut of oil stockpiled during the pandemic was nearly gone. I haven't seen many discussions about this issue recently and this paves the way for increased oil prices for producers. OPEC+ will continue to control the amount of oil that can be brought into the market. The US market is unable to respond until the industry covers financially.

The article also discusses that consumers are beginning to feel the prices at the pumps. I have personally heard people complain about high prices and are eager to blame politicians. This is another example of how the majority of the population doesn't understand the oil industry. Historically low gasoline prices means that record numbers of oil and gas employees are laid off. The US industry was demolished during the pandemic and needs higher prices to survive, grow production and explore for new oil. Without exploration and production growth, a true oil shortage will appear and the spike oil prices will have a real impact on everyone. 

Figure 1: Baker Hughes US Land Weekly Rig Report - April 16 2021
(Source: Baker Hughes)

Table 1: Baker Hughes US Land Rig Report by Area - April 16 2021
(Source: Baker Hughes)