Baker Hughes Rig Count Explained
The rig count is published every Friday afternoon and moves oil markets. This guide explains what it measures, why it is a leading indicator for US production, how to read basin-level breakdowns, and how to access the data programmatically.
1. What is the Baker Hughes Rig Count?
The Baker Hughes rig count is a weekly census of active drilling rigs in the United States, Canada, and internationally. Baker Hughes, an oilfield services company, has published this report continuously since 1944 — making it one of the longest- running data series in the energy industry.
Every Friday at 1:00 PM Eastern, Baker Hughes releases the updated count. The number reflects rigs that were actively drilling during the week — meaning the drill bit was turning. Rigs that are moving between locations, stacking (sitting idle), or rigging up are not counted.
The primary count that markets watch is the US total rig count, which breaks out into oil-directed rigs and gas-directed rigs. Below the headline number, the data splits by basin (Permian, Eagle Ford, Bakken, etc.) and by drilling type (horizontal, vertical, directional). The international count covers Canada and a rolling tally of rigs worldwide.
Baker Hughes collects this data from its own field personnel and from operators. The methodology has remained consistent for decades, which is why the historical series is so analytically useful — you can compare today's rig count to where it stood in 2008, 2014, or 2020 and draw meaningful conclusions about industry activity cycles.
2. Why the Rig Count Matters
The rig count matters because it is the earliest reliable leading indicator for US oil and gas production. Drilling a horizontal shale well takes 2–4 weeks. Completing and bringing it online takes another 60–90 days. From the moment a rig starts turning to the day oil flows into the pipeline, the lag is typically 3–6 months in shale plays. In conventional formations the lag can be longer.
This means a sustained rise in rig count today reliably predicts higher domestic production in 3–6 months — and a sustained decline predicts lower production. Oil traders, hedge funds, refiners, and commodity analysts watch the Friday release closely because it gives them a forward-looking signal that inventory data and production figures do not.
For oilfield services companies, the rig count is literally a demand forecast. More rigs running means more demand for fracking crews, steel tubulars, wellsite services, and water management. Service company earnings calls frequently reference rig count trends as a proxy for their revenue pipeline.
Key relationship: rigs and production
More rigs drilling → more wells being drilled → higher future production in 3–6 months
Fewer rigs → fewer new wells → natural production decline accelerates without infill drilling
Since 2014, each rig produces more oil. A rig count at 2014 levels today would produce significantly more oil
One important caveat: rig count is not a perfect production proxy. The industry's efficiency has increased dramatically since 2010. The average horizontal rig today drills faster and longer laterals than a rig from 2014. This means the rig count understates actual drilling activity compared to historical periods — a rig count of 500 today represents more effective drilling capacity than 500 rigs in 2010.
This is why analysts typically look at rig count in conjunction with DUC wells (drilled but uncompleted), frac spread counts, and the EIA Drilling Productivity Report — which models production per rig by basin and accounts for efficiency gains.
3. How to Read the Rig Count
The top-line number you hear on CNBC or Bloomberg is the US total active rig count. But the detail below the headline is where the analysis lives.
Oil vs. Gas Rigs
The US count splits into oil-directed rigs and gas-directed rigs. In the shale era, oil rigs dominate — because most shale plays (Permian, Eagle Ford, Bakken) produce primarily crude oil. Gas rigs are a smaller share and track the economics of natural gas prices and LNG demand. When gas prices spike, you will see gas-directed rig counts rise with a lag of several months as operators respond.
Horizontal vs. Vertical vs. Directional
In modern shale drilling, nearly all activity is horizontal drilling. Vertical rigs are rare and declining; they mainly drill conventional formations in places like the Anadarko Basin in Oklahoma or the Williston Basin's conventional zones. Directional rigs are steered at an angle but do not go fully horizontal — used in some offshore and unconventional applications. When analysts say "rig count," they almost always mean horizontal rigs in shale plays.
Week-over-Week (WoW) Changes
Markets react to the WoW change more than the absolute level. A drop of 5 rigs in a week is not dramatic on a base of 600, but a consistent downtrend of 5–10 rigs per week for several months is a significant signal. Analysts smooth the data with 4-week or 13-week moving averages to separate trend from noise.
Year-over-Year (YoY) Context
Because rig counts are seasonal (completions activity slows in winter in northern basins), YoY comparisons are more analytically useful than sequential WoW comparisons in certain situations. Is this week's count higher or lower than the same week last year? That removes seasonality and shows whether the industry is in a structural expansion or contraction.
4. Major Basins Tracked
Baker Hughes breaks out rig counts by play (basin) for the major US producing regions. Here are the basins tracked and what each tells you:
Permian Basin
West Texas / Southeast New Mexico
The largest and most active basin in the US. Typically accounts for 40–50% of all active US oil rigs. Spans the Midland and Delaware sub-basins with primary targets in the Wolfcamp, Bone Spring, and Spraberry formations. Permian rig count is the single most important number for US production forecasts.
Eagle Ford
South Texas
A major oil and wet gas play in South Texas. Activity is centered in counties including DeWitt, Karnes, and Webb. Eagle Ford rigs are a secondary production signal after the Permian. The play reached peak rig count around 2014 and has operated at a lower, more stable level since.
Bakken
North Dakota / Montana
The defining Bakken shale play in the Williston Basin. North Dakota is the primary state; the Bakken extends into Montana and Saskatchewan. Rig count here tracks light tight oil production in the continental US's northern tier. Winter slowdowns are more pronounced here than in Texas.
DJ Basin (Niobrara)
Colorado / Wyoming
The Denver-Julesburg Basin, targeting the Niobrara and Codell formations. Weld County, Colorado is the most active county. More sensitive to regulatory risk than Texas plays — Colorado ballot initiatives and setback rules have historically affected rig counts here.
Anadarko Basin
Oklahoma
Oklahoma's main producing basin, targeting the SCOOP and STACK plays (Woodford, Springer, Meramec). Activity has been more volatile than the Permian, responding sharply to oil price swings. Also produces significant natural gas.
Appalachian / Marcellus
Pennsylvania / West Virginia / Ohio
Primarily a natural gas basin — the Marcellus and Utica shales are among the most prolific gas plays in the world. Rig count here tracks gas-directed activity and is driven by natural gas prices and Northeast pipeline capacity more than oil prices.
Haynesville
Louisiana / East Texas
A major dry gas play. Haynesville rig count has gained importance as LNG export capacity has grown — higher LNG demand pulls more gas out of Haynesville. Rigs here are almost entirely gas-directed.
5. Rig Count vs. Other Indicators
The rig count is the best-known drilling indicator, but it is not the only one. Here is how it compares to the other major metrics and when each is most useful:
Frac Spread Count
Primary Vision, LSEGWeeklyFrac spreads count the number of active hydraulic fracturing crews — the crews that complete wells after drilling is finished. Because completion activity is a later step in the well life cycle than drilling, frac spreads are a more immediate indicator of near-term production. A well can sit as a DUC for months after drilling; when a frac spread shows up, production is weeks away. Frac spread count is generally considered a better short-term production signal than rig count.
DUC Wells (Drilled but Uncompleted)
EIA (Drilling Productivity Report)MonthlyDUC inventory represents wells that have been drilled but not yet completed and brought online. A large DUC backlog means operators can accelerate production by completing existing wells without adding new rigs — essentially a production buffer. When DUC counts rise, it often means operators are drilling faster than they are completing. When DUC counts fall, it means completions activity is drawing down the inventory.
Completions
EIA (Drilling Productivity Report)MonthlyCompletion counts track the number of wells completed (fracked and brought online) per month by basin. This is the most direct precursor to production — a well enters the production data stream within weeks of completion. The EIA publishes completions data in the Drilling Productivity Report, which also models new-well production per rig.
EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report (WPSR)
US Energy Information AdministrationWeekly (Wednesday)The WPSR reports actual US crude oil production, inventories, imports, refinery runs, and product supplied. Unlike the rig count (a forward-looking indicator), the WPSR reflects what actually happened in the prior week. It is the most important data release for oil markets and is often used to validate or challenge what the rig count was predicting 3–6 months prior.
6. Accessing Rig Count Data Programmatically
OilPriceAPI provides Baker Hughes rig count data as structured JSON via REST API. Weekly US, Canada, and international totals with WoW and YoY changes included. Basin-level breakdowns available on Operator and Field Boss plans.
# Get latest US rig count with WoW change
curl "https://api.oilpriceapi.com/v1/drilling-intelligence/rig-counts/us/latest" \
-H "Authorization: Token YOUR_API_KEY"
{
"status": "success",
"data": {
"report_date": "2026-03-28",
"us_total": 583,
"oil_rigs": 481,
"gas_rigs": 98,
"misc_rigs": 4,
"wow_change": -3,
"yoy_change": 12,
"horizontal": 533,
"vertical": 14,
"directional": 36,
"basins": {
"permian": 302,
"eagle_ford": 53,
"bakken": 32,
"dj_basin": 18,
"anadarko": 24,
"haynesville": 42,
"appalachian": 21,
"other": 91
}
}
}
# Get historical rig count for the Permian
curl "https://api.oilpriceapi.com/v1/drilling-intelligence/rig-counts/us?basin=permian&from=2020-01-01&to=2026-03-28" \
-H "Authorization: Token YOUR_API_KEY"7. Historical Context
The 2014 Oil Price Crash
From late 2014 into 2016, WTI crude fell from above $100/bbl to below $30. The US rig count responded sharply: from a peak of 1,931 rigs in October 2014, it plunged to a trough of 404 rigs by May 2016. That 79% collapse was the fastest rig count decline since the 1980s. Production did fall — but with a lag, and less than expected, because operators had been high-grading to their best acreage throughout the downturn. The 2014 crash cemented the lesson that rig efficiency had fundamentally changed the production-per-rig relationship.
The COVID-19 Crash (2020)
The most violent rig count collapse in history occurred in 2020. In March and April 2020, as COVID-19 lockdowns crushed demand and the Saudi Arabia-Russia price war simultaneously flooded the market with supply, WTI briefly traded negative. The US rig count fell from 792 in mid-March 2020 to just 244 by August 2020 — a 69% drop in five months. Operators aggressively stacked rigs and shut in wells.
Recovery was slower than previous cycles. By year-end 2020, the count had only recovered to around 340. The industry was capital-disciplined in the post-COVID recovery — operators returned cash to shareholders rather than immediately drilling more wells, which meant the rig count did not return to pre-COVID levels for several years.
The 2021–2023 Recovery
As oil prices recovered through 2021 and surged after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the rig count climbed back steadily. However, the pace of recovery was constrained by supply chain bottlenecks — rig component shortages, crew availability, and steel tubular lead times all limited how fast operators could rebuild activity. The count reached a post-COVID peak around 780 in late 2022, before moderating as oil prices corrected and operators maintained capital discipline.
The productivity shift that changed everything
In 2010, the US had roughly 1,700 active rigs producing about 5.5 million barrels per day. By 2023, around 600 rigs were producing more than 13 million barrels per day. That is more than twice the oil from one-third the rigs. Longer laterals (some now exceeding 3 miles), improved frac designs, better well spacing, and faster drill times all contributed. This efficiency revolution means the rig count must always be interpreted in the context of its era — today's 600 rigs is not comparable to 600 rigs in 2005.
Get rig count data via API
Weekly US, Canadian, and international rig counts with WoW and YoY changes — delivered as clean JSON alongside well permits, DUC wells, frac spreads, and EIA reports.
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