The U.S. rig count climbed three units to 779 for the period ended Dec. 22, bolstered by gains in the Permian Basin, according to the latest figures from oilfield services provider Baker Hughes Co. (BKR).

shale rigs

Two oil-directed rigs and one natural gas-directed rig were added in the United States for the period. Land drilling accounted for all of the week’s gains, as the Gulf of Mexico tally held steady at 15. Three horizontal rigs were added alongside one vertical unit. Partially offsetting was a one-rig decline in directional rigs.

The 779 active U.S. rigs as of Thursday compares with 586 rigs running in the year-earlier period, according to the BKR numbers, which are partly based on data from Enverus.

Canada, meanwhile, posted a steep drop-off for the week, with 103 rigs exiting the patch, including 92 oil-directed rigs and 11 natural gas-directed units. Canada ended the week with 96 active rigs, versus 133 in the year-earlier period.

Historical data from BKR show a similarly large drop-off for Canadian rigs in the year-earlier period. The Canadian count went from 104 as of Dec. 17, 2021, to 39 as of New Year’s Eve 2021.

Counting by major drilling region, the Permian added two rigs week/week to end with 352, up from 294 in the year-earlier period. Also adding two rigs was the Granite Wash. The Mississippian Lime and Williston Basin each added one rig, while the Cana Woodford and Denver Julesburg each dropped one rig, the BKR data show.

Counting by state, Texas posted a net gain of seven rigs for the period, while New Mexico saw a net decline of four rigs. North Dakota added two rigs to its tally, while Wyoming saw a one-rig decline.

Demand for gasoline climbed last week and helped to drive a second consecutive gain in U.S. petroleum consumption, while oil production leveled off, recent federal data show.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said Wednesday overall demand for petroleum products for the period ended Dec. 16 climbed 5% week/week. The increase was driven by a 6% jump in gasoline consumption, according to the agency’s latest Weekly Petroleum Status Report. This followed a 2% increase in the week-earlier period.

U.S. output flattened during the period at 12.1 million b/d. Domestic output had dipped 100,000 b/d the week before.