Source: RADAR | August 23, 2017

The US active land rig count’s “Big Stall” drags on. The latest tally is a -0.7% sequential drop, which in itself would scarcely be worth noting if it weren’t for the fact that it continues a trend in which the active rig count, as measured by Platts RigData RADAR, continues to swing in a tight band in the low 900s.

The delta between top and bottom counts vs. the average of the past 7 weeks is just 10.5. Traditionally Q3 represents the peak of the annual rig count as operators start accelerating drilling to spend down their budgets ahead of year-end.

Of course, traditions get whipsawed coming in and out of cycles, but if activity is back on the usual track, then the US active land rig count will struggle to reach and maintain a level above 1,000 for the rest of the year. That puts us on track with the most recent update to our US Land Rig Demand Forecast, which doesn’t show that threshold being sustained before mid-2018.

Call 1-800-627-9785 to subscribe to Platts RigData RADAR (Rigs and Drilling Analytics Report), the leading statistical monitor of land rig market activity.

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