Rig count declines in Oklahoma, nationwide
Amid stalling oil prices and growing concerns of overproduction, oil and natural gas companies this week scaled back on the number of rigs operating both in Oklahoma and nationwide.
In Oklahoma, the number of rigs drilling for oil and natural gas declined by three to 131, which still is up 122 percent from 59 one year ago.
Central Oklahoma’s STACK and SCOOP fields are among the areas in the country where drilling activity has picked up fastest. The plays are part of the Cana Woodford basin, which was unchanged this week at 59. The basin had 28 active rigs one year ago.
The Cana Woodford is the third mostactive field in the country, behind the south Texas Eagle Ford, which declined by two rigs this week to 78, and the Permian Basin in west Texas and southeast New Mexico, which gained one rig to 234.
Nationwide, the rig count slipped by two this week to 950, which still is up 106 percent from 462 one year ago. The number of rigs drilling for oil declined by one this week to 764, while the natural gas rig count also slipped by one to 186.
Texas remained the country’s most active driller despite giving back three rigs this week to 463. Louisiana added four rigs this week while California gained two and North Dakota and Utah each picked up one. New Mexico declined by two while Alaska’s rig count dropped by one.
Oil prices have fallen since the first of the year as U.S. production has continued to grow despite production cuts from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Russia and other producers.
Domestic benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude fell $1.15 Friday to close at $45.77 a barrel, down more than 18 percent this year. The benchmark natural gas price slipped 7 cents to $2.97 per thousand cubic feet.