Drilling has picked up to a frenzied pace as active natural gasrig numbers continue to skyrocket in the United States and Canada.Rotary rigs drilling int he United States soared by 20 last week toa new record of 736 active gas drilling rigs, according to BakerHughes’ Rig Count report. Currently there are 235 more domesticrigs actively drilling than at the same time last year.

Canada is experiencing a sizeable expansion as well. Canada’saverage oil & gas rig count for the month of June was 301active rigs. The figure is among the top five June averages forCanada over the past 36 years, according to the Baker Hughesreport. It also represents a 114 rig increase over the June 1999average. Canada’s week total that ended last Friday was up 18 rigsfrom the week before to end at 306. Houston-based Baker Hughes hasbeen keeping track of the rig count since 1944.

The Gulf of Mexico’s rig count dropped by three in last week’sreport, but the number of rigs drilling deepwater in the Gulf ofMexico is experiencing a record high. The Department of theInterior’s Minerals Management Services (MMS) announced late lastweek that deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico had reached anall time high of 34 active rigs.

“This level of deepwater oil and gas activity has never beenreached before,” said MMS Director Walt Rosenbusch. “It illustratesthe tremendous level of economic activity that is flowing into thedeepwater portion of the Gulf of Mexico. Just last year, there wereonly 26 rigs working in deepwater.”

Independent oil and gas companies are becoming involved more andmore in deepwater drilling, which MMS defines as 1,000 feet ofwater or deeper. 13 of the 34 wells were drilled by independentcompanies, including Conoco, Marathon, Anadarko, Kerr-McGee,Amerada Hess, Mariner Energy and McMoRan.

“Several companies have filed plans for additional deepwaterdrilling later this year, so it is possible that the record willsoon be broken again. We have seen the level of drilling andproduction continue to rise, and this confirms that deepwater Gulfof Mexico is America’s emerging frontier,” Rosenbusch added.

Alex Steis

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