August saw a deceleration in the momentum that had started gathering with double-digit sequential gains in July, according to RigData’s RADAR Report. With the latest tally of 451 (-5 week to week), the average rig count for the preceding 4 weeks shows a delta ranging from just +7 to just -4.

The RigData News & Analysis team has been warning for weeks now that rig count gains were poised to level off as smaller operators begin exiting the drilling fray as the year wound down, and that day may be here. Since a low active rig count of 136 in Q2 for the combined fleet of private operators, this cohort has added 86 rigs, taking their collective market share from 37% to 49% as the overall rig count gained just 79 units in that same timespan; all other company classes lost ground. But August arrived with a sequential increase of just 1 percentage point in the private operators’ market share, and the latest data sample saw zero change.

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