Significant growth in number of active rotary rigs throughout the United States and Alaska.

• Author: Roesler, Heidi Brague
• Position: Alaska Trends for March - Brief Article

The Baker Hughes North American Rotary Rig Count is a count of drilling rigs that are actively searching for or developing oil and natural gas throughout the United States and Canada. The highest rig count in the United States was in December of 1981, with an astonishing 4,530 active rigs. In contrast, the lowest number of active rigs in the United States was 488. This low rig count was recorded in April of 1999.

The total number of active rigs throughout the United States in November 2003 was 1,113 rigs, compared to just 835 rigs in November 2002. This significant increase in rotary rigs suggests an almost 34 percent increase in the total number of active rigs throughout the United States. In the period of one month, October 2003 to November 2003, the number of active rigs increased by six...