Steel Markets
March 20, 2015
Active Drill Rigs: US Down 41% and Canada Down 64% Year over Year
Written by Brett Linton
According to Baker Hughes data from March 20th, 2015, the U.S rig count for the week was 1,069 rigs exploring for or developing oil or natural gas. The rig count is down 56 rigs when compared to last week, with oil rigs down 41 to 825 rigs, gas rigs down 15 to 242 rigs, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 2 rigs. Compared to this time last year, the 1,069 count is a decrease of 734 rigs, with oil rigs down by 648, gas rigs down by 84, and miscellaneous rigs down by 2.
The decline in the drilling of new gas and oil wells is having a direct impact on the amount of line pipe, storage tanks and OCTG that is being used by the energy sector. A good portion of these products come from hot rolled coil or plate substrate and are reasons for the short lead times on hot rolled and plate at the U.S. and Canadian steel producers.
