International offshore rig count takes a nosedive

Baker Hughes’ international rig count report shows that the number of offshore rigs took a downturn in February 2023, slipping by 4 units, compared to last month. However, the total number of international rigs rose to 915 from 901 units during the previous month.

After the number of international offshore rigs increased by 10 units in January 2023, Baker Hughes disclosed on Friday, 3 March 2023, that the number of these units decreased by 4 in February 2023. In addition, offshore rigs were up by 34 units on a year-over-year basis last month while they were up 31 rigs year-over-year in January 2023.

Moreover, the firm highlights that the total number of active international drilling rigs – including onshore and offshore ones – jumped by 14 units last month, climbing to 915, which is higher by 102 rigs than last year’s count of 813 with land rigs surging up by 68 units and offshore rigs going up by 34 units.

Compared to the figures from the previous month, land rigs went up by 18 units to 693 in February 2023 while offshore rigs dropped down by 4 units to 222.

Furthermore, the average U.S. rig count for February was 758 units, down 14 rigs from last month’s count of 772 and up 122 units on a year-over-year basis while the average U.S. rig count for January 2023 was up 171 units year-over-year.

On the other hand, the average Canada rig count for February was 248 units, up 22 rigs from last month’s count of 226 rigs and up 28 units year-over-year, compared to the average Canada rig count for January 2023, which was up 36 units year-over-year.

Meanwhile, the worldwide rig count for February was 1,921 units, up 23 rigs from 1,899 units counted in January 2023, and up 252 units, from 1,669 rigs counted in February 2022.