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U.S. Oil Rig Count Rises to Highest Level Since 1993

General discussions of the systemic, societal and civilisational effects of depletion.

Re: U.S. Oil Rig Count Rises to Highest Level Since 1993

Unread postby Tanada » Mon 20 Nov 2017, 07:21:49

U.S.
Date 17 November 2017 Count 915.
Change from one week earlier +8. Date of previous week count 10 November 2017.

Change from 18 November 2016 to 17 November 2017 +327
Alfred Tennyson wrote:We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
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Re: U.S. Oil Rig Count Rises to Highest Level Since 1993

Unread postby tita » Sat 20 Jan 2018, 23:18:28

Since july 2017, the rig count appears to be stuck. A strong growth was seen between the low june 2016 (404) and july 2017, to reach 958 on July the 28th, then slowly decreased to 898 on november the 3rd.

We had a slow progress recently, but the last data show a count of 936, down by three from a week earlier. Still higher than a year ago (694), but shy from the high of 2014 (1931).

There is a big expectation that US production will grow on an unprecedented pace this year... But if the rig count doesn't increase, and depending on supply data, this expectation may falter.
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Re: U.S. Oil Rig Count Rises to Highest Level Since 1993

Unread postby Tanada » Sun 21 Jan 2018, 05:26:47

tita wrote:Since july 2017, the rig count appears to be stuck. A strong growth was seen between the low june 2016 (404) and july 2017, to reach 958 on July the 28th, then slowly decreased to 898 on november the 3rd.

We had a slow progress recently, but the last data show a count of 936, down by three from a week earlier. Still higher than a year ago (694), but shy from the high of 2014 (1931).

There is a big expectation that US production will grow on an unprecedented pace this year... But if the rig count doesn't increase, and depending on supply data, this expectation may falter.


I find myself wondering two things. How much of the yet to be drilled territory has leases already tied up by the companies already involved in drilling? What I mean is, if the companies already at work in a particular play have already secured all of the land worth drilling at say $150/bbl or less then there is no room left for other companies to move in. I remember reading that a lot of leases were changing hands back a couple years ago as companies settled territories during the glut.

The other thing I am wondering is I recall reading several stories in 2016 about old rigs being sold off for scrap because so many were idled. If say 500 rigs were scrapped and nobody was ordering new ones because of the glut there might not be more than 1000 rigs with all the parts in hand to operate. A lot of stored rigs have been cannibalized over the last three years to keep the active rigs active without having to buy brand new parts. To take those rigs out of storage and put them back to work means those parts now have to be ordered, manufactured and delivered before the maintenance guys can install and test them and the rig can go from storage to active again. That could even explain why some rigs have gone back out of service if the part supply chain has run out of slack. Some of these parts are specialty items that have to be built by job shops instead of mass produced, and all that takes time.
Alfred Tennyson wrote:We are not now that strength which in old days
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To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
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Re: U.S. Oil Rig Count Rises to Highest Level Since 1993

Unread postby vtsnowedin » Sun 21 Jan 2018, 09:03:48

I'm sure the oil drilling tool companies down in Texas and Oklahoma are happily working to fill those orders as they come in.
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Re: U.S. Oil Rig Count Rises to Highest Level Since 1993

Unread postby ROCKMAN » Sun 21 Jan 2018, 15:36:01

T - The distinction you hint at is rigs drilling vs rigs AVAILABLE. Here's some thoughts along that line from link below:

"With little demand for older, mechanical rigs that cannot drill horizontal wells and don’t have walking systems, contractors have retired these rigs in large numbers over the past two years, Mr Spears said. He pointed to the 2014 National Oilwell Varco (NOV) rig census, which showed that there were 3,250 total available rigs in the US. The same census two years later counted only 2,100 available rigs, a drop of more than one-third.

“From this point forward, we’ll probably see the number of available rigs continue to decline, but I’d guess it would only fall about 5% a year going forward,” he said. Of the rigs that have been retired, 70% to 80% of them are mechanical rigs that were built for drilling vertical wells. “I think most of the retirements that we’ll see in the next few years will also be these older rigs that just don’t have much demand in the marketplace,” Mr Spears added."

http://www.drillingcontractor.org/us-on ... ttom-42560

And you can track the situation yourself at NOV: http://www.drillingcontractor.org/dc-ar ... ember-2017

And for the nature of "mechanical rigs": the entire drill string rotates which causes the drill bit on the end of it to rotate and cut the rock. Horizontal wells are not drilled with the drill string rotating. On the bottom of the drill string is a "mud motor" which has the drill bit attached to it. As the drilling mud is pumped down the non-rotating drill pipe it rotates the mud motor which rotates the bit that cuts the rock. Rotating the drill pipe in a hz hole is difficult and dangerous. The rigs drilling with mud motors enquire more powerful pumps and other equipment.
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Re: U.S. Oil Rig Count Rises to Highest Level Since 1993

Unread postby JimBof » Thu 25 Jan 2018, 00:33:00

ROCKMAN wrote:T - The distinction you hint at is rigs drilling vs rigs AVAILABLE. Here's some thoughts along that line from link below:

"With little demand for older, mechanical rigs that cannot drill horizontal wells and don’t have walking systems, contractors have retired these rigs in large numbers over the past two years, Mr Spears said. He pointed to the 2014 National Oilwell Varco (NOV) rig census, which showed that there were 3,250 total available rigs in the US. The same census two years later counted only 2,100 available rigs, a drop of more than one-third.

“From this point forward, we’ll probably see the number of available rigs continue to decline, but I’d guess it would only fall about 5% a year going forward,” he said. Of the rigs that have been retired, 70% to 80% of them are mechanical rigs that were built for drilling vertical wells. “I think most of the retirements that we’ll see in the next few years will also be these older rigs that just don’t have much demand in the marketplace,” Mr Spears added."

http://www.drillingcontractor.org/us-on ... ttom-42560

And you can track the situation yourself at NOV: http://www.drillingcontractor.org/dc-ar ... ember-2017

And for the nature of "mechanical rigs": the entire drill string rotates which causes the drill bit on the end of it to rotate and cut the rock. Horizontal wells are not drilled with the drill string rotating. On the bottom of the drill string is a "mud motor" which has the drill bit attached to it. As the drilling mud is pumped down the non-rotating drill pipe it rotates the mud motor which rotates the bit that cuts the rock. Rotating the drill pipe in a hz hole is difficult and dangerous. The rigs drilling with mud motors enquire more powerful pumps and other equipment.


I would assume that rotating the whole drill string would also require a lot of power so even with the larger mud pumps it is probably a more efficient method of drilling. Economics would dictate the change even for a vertical hole, especially if the the resulting hole might be marginally profitable at the higher cost.
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Re: U.S. Oil Rig Count Rises to Highest Level Since 1993

Unread postby Tanada » Tue 11 Dec 2018, 16:27:35

December 7 report from Baker Hughes for North America.

Oil, 877 rigs working up from 751 rigs one year ago
Gas, 198 rigs working up from 180 rigs one year ago

Places with the largest changes are Texas, up 70 rigs from one year ago and New Mexico, up 37 rigs from one year ago vs Ohio down 12 rigs from one year ago.
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zht ... portsother
Alfred Tennyson wrote:We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
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Re: U.S. Oil Rig Count Rises to Highest Level Since 1993

Unread postby ROCKMAN » Wed 12 Dec 2018, 12:50:05

Jim – I’m not going to take up space explaining everything about drilling. Search the net if you want more.

First, there are not “horizontal drilling rigs” and “vertical drilling rigs”. There are just drilling rigs. A rig might drill a hole by rotating the entire drill string or use “mud motors”. Mud motors are essentially a piece of equipment attached at the end of the drill string: as the drill mud is pumped down thru the mud motor it turns the drill bit…the drill string itself does not turn. Same rig that could drill a straight hole can drill a hz well using mud motors. But it gets more complicated: we’ve developed “rotary steerable” systems: entire drill string rotates while drilling a hz hole. Again would take way too much space to explain. The choice between using mud motors and rotary steerable depends on a variety of factors not the least of which is cost.

Rotating the entire drill string can be much more efficient (IOW cheaper) then using mud motors or rotary steerable systems. Or not: depends of the geology. But your most important take away: there are not hz and vert drill rigs…just drill rigs. And walking drill rigs are just drill rigs that don’t have to be dismantled to move: they are just slid a short distance. Handy when drilling multiple wells from the same drill site but not necessary to drill multiple hz wells from same drill site. The choice: save money by efficiency…or cost more: depends on the circumstance and rig cost.

Best advice: don’t pay much attention to what folks who have never drilled a well have to say. Listen to those that have or just do a wiki search.
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