Hughes

Analysts at U.S. Capital Advisors on Thursday published a 78-page slide deck outlining their views on the year ahead, including what’s in store for drilling activity across the various plays. Among other things, the analysts looked at operator debt burdens by play as a potential signal for where things are heading.

The United States saw two oil-directed rigs and no natural gas units leave the hunt in the final rig count of 2015, according to Baker Hughes Inc.

The U.S. rig count fell again in the report released by Baker Hughes Inc. on Wednesday (Dec. 23), two days earlier than usual to accommodate the Christmas holiday.

The U.S. rig count fell again in the report released by Baker Hughes Inc. on Wednesday (Dec. 23), two days earlier than usual to accommodate the Christmas holiday.

The tally of rigs plying unconventional basins held mostly steady from one basin to the next in the latest weekly census by Baker Hughes Inc. The Permian saw the exit of four rigs, making it the biggest loser for the week ending Friday (Dec. 4).

The tally of rigs plying U.S. natural gas plays is off 44% from one year ago, and that’s with a slight uptick of three units in the latest rig census by Baker Hughes Inc. for the week ending Friday (Dec. 4).

Nabors Industries Inc., the largest onshore drilling fleet operator and the biggest supplier of pressure pumping equipment, is not optimistic about seeing gains in the U.S. oil or gas patch through the rest of this year, CEO Tony Petrello said Wednesday.

Baker Hughes Inc. executives on Friday said the total U.S. rig count should fall on average by 8% this year from 2012, but with better drilling efficiencies, the onshore well count may only decline by 4% to around 35,000.

A coalition of nine environmental groups in West Virginia have asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to require that operators add tracers to fluids used in hydraulic fracturing (fracking) at Marcellus Shale oil and gas wells drilled near the Monongahela National Forest.