Disappearing Rigs

摘要

Over the last six months, drilling activity in the United States has tanked, for lack of a better term. As indicated by Rig Count as reported by Baker Hughes, in response to recent business conditions (primarily the falling price of natural gas) exploration and production companies have drastically scaled back drilling operations. The decrease in activity is not limited to any geographical area; it is uniform across the United States. The only variation is the degree to which rig usage has dropped. Indications from public announcements are that the current decline will continue for some time to come. So far there does not seem to be any real consensus as to where rig usage will bottom out and stabilize.