Emerging from a holiday break and overcoming jitters surrounding the spread of the Omicron Covid-19 variant, Canadian drillers added 50 rigs to the active rig count in the week ended January 14, energy services firm Baker Hughes said in its weekly activity summary.
The active count in Canada jumped to 191 from 141, Baker Hughes said, with oil rigs leading the way, rising to 121 from 78. Seven additional rigs went to work drilling for gas.
The count in the US also rose week-on-week, but by a more modest 13, to 601 from 588. Again, oil rigs led the way, climbing by 11 to 492, with just two gas rigs added.
Alberta led the Canadian surge, adding 34 to the active count. Saskatchewan added 11, BC activity increased by three rigs, bringing the total in the gas-focused province to 14, while Manitoba doubled its active count to four.
In the US, six active rigs were added in the Eagle Ford shale oil basin and three in the Haynesville. Two were added in the Marcellus and one in the Permian.