The US well count improved to 2,675 newly spudded wells in 3Q16, up by 507 wells drilled onshore or +23% quarter-over-quarter compared to 2,168 wells drilled in 2Q16. About one-third of the quarterly well count growth was due to above average activity levels in Permian formations (i.e., Bone Spring, Clearfork, Wolfberry, Wolfcamp, and Wolffork), which collectively grew by 32% Q/Q.
Given the current pace of spud-to-release times being steady at 17 days per rig in the most recent quarter, the outlook for the 2016 well count is trending towards 10,000 wells this year. Thus, while 2016 will mark the second straight year of lower US well counts, the trends suggests industry will see year-over-year improvement in well activity during 2017.
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