Worldwide offshore rig count in March drops by four rigs sequentially and year-over-year

The worldwide offshore rig count in March 2020 has dropped four rigs sequentially and year-over-year, according to rig count reports by Baker Hughes Company.

Illustration; Author: SP Mac (shared with permission from the author)
Illustration; Author: SP Mac (shared with permission from the author)

Baker Hughes splits its rig counts into international and North America rig counts, which combined make the worldwide rig count.

The international rig count for March 2020 was 1,059, down 26 from the 1,085 counted in February 2020, and up 20 from the 1,039 counted in March 2019.

The international offshore rig count for March 2020 was 244, down 1 from the 245 counted in February 2020, and down 3 from the 247 counted in March 2019.

Looking at separate regions, the Asia Pacific region had the highest number of offshore rigs during March 2020, totalling 98 units – 7 more than in February 2020. This is down 4 rigs from 102 in March 2019.

In the Middle East region, there were 55 rigs active during March 2020, up 1 from February 2020 and on par with March 2019.

Latin America is still holding third place in the offshore rig count for March 2020 with 34 active units. Africa has moved up to fourth place with 30, while Europe dropped to fifth place with 27 active units.

The average U.S. rig count for March 2020 was 772, down 19 from the 791 counted in February 2020, and down 251 from the 1,023 counted in March 2019.

The average Canadian rig count for March 2020 was 133, down 116 from the 249 counted in February 2020, and down 18 from the 151 counted in March 2019.

The worldwide rig count for March 2020 was 1,964, down 161 from the 2,125 counted in February 2020, and down 249 from the 2,213 counted in March 2019.

The worldwide offshore rig count for March 2020 was 266, down four from 270 in February 2020 as well as from March 2019.