Rig Count Plunges Below 300 in 13th-Straight Week of Losses

The number of operating drilling rigs in the U.S. fell below 300 for the first time, as energy companies continue to shut down oil-field operations amid low crude prices.

The number of rigs in operation declined for the 13th-straight week to 284, 17 fewer than a week ago, according to Baker Hughes, a Houston oil-field services company that has been monitoring the rig count since 1987. At the worst of the 2014-16 oil bust – the previous lowest point on record — there were 404 rigs operating.

The number of rigs in operation has plunged more than 60 percent since mid-March and by more than 70 percent compared with a year ago, when there were 975 rigs in operation. The count is a leading indicator of U.S. oil and gas production.

Most of the losses this week came from Texas, where operators idled 12 rigs. Texas, which has 115 rigs in operation, is home to most of the Permian Basin and hosts about half of the nation’s oil and gas rigs.

Energy companies are shutting down existing rigs and halting drilling of new wells after oil prices plummeted during the coronavirus pandemic, which wiped out demand for crude oil and petroleum products.

Nearly 75 percent of the rigs that have been shut down are in the nation's top three crude producing regions: The Permian in west Texas and New Mexico, the Eagle Ford in south Texas and the Bakken region in Montana and North Dakota, according to the Energy Information Administration.