Offshore rig activity rises in U.S.

Nabors currently operates 48 offshore drilling rigs in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, Alaska, and nine other countries worldwide

AUGUST 11, 2014—As of August 8, there were 60 rigs operating in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, up five from the same period one year ago, according to Baker Hughes rotary rig counts.

Overall, as of August 8, Baker Hughes reports that there were 2,295 rigs drilling on land, in inland waters and offshore in North America, up 159 rigs from a year ago. Of the 2,295 rigs, 1,588 were drilling for oil, 316 were drilling for gas, and another four for miscellaneous.

The five most active states in the U.S. are Texas (908), Oklahoma (211), North Dakota (182), Louisiana (113), and New Mexico (94).

The rig activity in North America far outpaces the rest of the world combined.  The rest of the world combined had 1,348 rigs operating at the end of July 2014 as compared to 1,876 in the U.S. and another 350 in Canada.