Everybody called the December crash the start of the slowdown. The rig count didn't get the memo.
The Count
- 593 rigs running nationwide...the highest since March 2025
- 54 more rigs than this same week last year...a 10% jump
- WTI trading at 84.31...crude is up almost 30 bucks off the December bottom
- US production near 13.8 million barrels a day...up half a million from a year ago
What A Rig Actually Is
A rig isn't a machine. It's a payroll.
Every rig that stands up needs drillers, derrick hands, motormen, floorhands. Then comes everything behind it...dirt work, water, gravel, hotshot loads, wireline, cement, frac crews, workover rig hand, pipeline hands.
54 new rigs in a year isn't a statistic. It's thousands of paychecks that didn't exist last August.
The Catch
Texas and New Mexico are eating first. Texas is sitting at 277 rigs and New Mexico added 3 more last week alone.
The Bakken is holding at 24...steady, not surging. Yet. North Dakota crude spent this spring selling at a premium over West Texas barrels for the first time since the 80s. Money like that doesn't stay ignored forever.
Field Report
You're the real rig count. Drop your basin and what you're seeing on the ground...crews staffing up, yards filling, phones ringing, or dead quiet.