April 25, 2022
Oilfield Services: US drilling rig report
US active land rig count up 1 week-over-week
Our view: In this publication, we cross-reference public drilling rig data sources to track short- and longer-term trends in rig activity levels. Please see Exhibits 2–11 for overall and basin-specific activity trends across drillers, basins, and customers. Exhibits 12 and 13 highlight our valuation comparables, ratings, and price targets for companies under coverage.
Baker Hughes land rig count up 1 w/w, to 682
Oil land rig count remained flat w/w. The US oil land rig count held flat at 536 w/w. The US gas land rig count was up 1 w/w to 144. The Permian active rig count of 334 remained unchanged w/w and the region accounts for 62% of oil rigs in the lower-48, and 49% of total US land rigs. For additional North American rig activity details, please see here for the latest edition of our Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin trend tracker.
Top 5 contractors decreased 1 rig w/w. As noted in Exhibit 2 (figure 6), HP remains the largest active contractor in the US with 23% market share, followed by PTEN (15%), NBR (11%), PD (7%), and ESI (6%). The five largest land drillers operate 62% of all active rigs, up 1% w/w.
Activity trends by basin: Permian active rig count held flat w/w
Permian flat w/w, at 334. The three most active drillers in the Permian are HP (91 rigs, 27% of total), PTEN (54 rigs, 16% of total), and NBR (30 rigs, 9% of total). The most active Permian operators are Pioneer (23 rigs), EOG (19 rigs), and Mewbourne (17 rigs).
Eagle Ford ↑ 1 rig w/w, to 61. The three most active drillers in the Eagle Ford are HP (25 rigs, 38% of total), NBR (9 rigs, 14% of total), and PTEN (9 rigs, 14% of total). The most active Eagle Ford operators are ConocoPhillips (5 rigs), BP (4 rigs), and Marathon (4 rigs).
Haynesville flat w/w, at 67. The three most active drillers in Haynesville are HP (16 rigs, 21% of total), NBR (13 rigs, 17% of total), and PD (13 rigs, 17% of total). The most active Haynesville operators are Aethon (14 rigs), Southwestern (11 rigs), and Comstock (7 rigs).
Appalachia flat w/w, at 49. The three most active drillers in Appalachia are PTEN (19 rigs, 37% of total), HP (7 rigs, 14% of total), and NBR (7 rigs, 14% of total). The most active Appalachia operators are Ascent Energy (4 rigs), Chesapeake (4 rigs), and EQT (4 rigs).
OFS stocks down 3%, while oil decreased 6% w/w
OFS stocks under coverage decreased 3.4% w/w, while the 2022 WTI decreased 6% w/w, Brent decreased 5% w/w and Henry Hub futures strip prices decreased 11% w/w. The top three performers were STEP (+16.7%), CEU (+12.3%), and SES (+10.6%). The bottom three performers were PD (-11.8%), NBR (-12.5%), and BKR (-13.6%). Our Oilfield Services coverage group is up 63.6% YTD vs the S&P 500 index down 7.4% YTD.