International offshore rig count climbs up a notch in November

Following a downward trend in the number of international offshore rigs, Baker Hughes’ rig count report points out that one more rig joined the working fleet in November 2023 compared to the month before. However, the downward trajectory continues on a y-o-y basis as last month saw two units less than last year. On the other hand, the total number of international rigs continues to rise, jumping to 978 from 962 units in October 2023.

After a decrease of 5 units in October 2023, Baker Hughes recently disclosed that the number of international offshore rigs increased by 1 unit in November 2023 while offshore rigs slid down by 2 units on a year-over-year basis.

Moreover, the firm’s report highlights that the total number of active international drilling rigs – including onshore and offshore ones – rose by 16 units last month, reaching 978, which is higher by 68 rigs than last year’s count of 910 with land rigs going up by 70 units and offshore rigs slipping down by 2 units.

In comparison to the figures from the month before, land rigs went up by 15 units to 758 in November 2023 while offshore rigs climbed up by 1 unit to 220.

Furthermore, the average U.S. rig count for November 2023 was 619 units, down 4 rigs from the previous month’s count of 623 and down 160 units on a year-over-year basis while the average U.S. rig count for October 2023 was down 145 units year-over-year.

The average Canada rig count for November 2023 was 197 units, up 5 rigs from the prior month’s count of 192 rigs and down 4 units year-over-year.

Meanwhile, the worldwide rig count for November 2023 was 1,794 units, up 17 rigs from 1,777 units counted in October 2023, and down 96 units from 1,890 rigs counted in November 2022.