Posted on September 20, 2022.

US natural gas producers are operating more drilling rigs now than at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. Before the pandemic, the number of operating platforms in the United States had generally decreased. When on 31st January, 2020 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services First declared a public health emergency related to COVID-19, Baker Hughes Company reported that there were 112 natural gas platforms operating in the United States.

The number of natural gas-fired rigs continued to decline in the first half of 2020, reaching a low of 68 rigs on July 24, 2020, the lowest in historical data from Baker Hughes, the lowest since 1987. Is. Since then, natural gas rigs overall have been increasing, returning to pre-pandemic levels in January 2022. On September 9, Baker Hughes reported that 166 natural gas rigs were in operation in the United States, initially 54 more. United States of america.

Major Natural Gas Drilling

As natural gas drilling in the United States increases, production is expected to increase as well. Short Term Energy Outlook (STEO.)) september US Energy Information Administration (EIA) It is estimated that dry natural gas production in the United States averaged 97.6 billion cubic feet per day (97.6 bcf/d) during August 2022. The EIA expects US dry natural gas production to grow by an average of 100.5 Bcf during the STEO forecast period (2022-23). /d during December 2023.

The EIA’s Drilling Productivity Report (DPR) measures historical natural gas production in selected onshore areas, including the Appalachia, Haynesville and Permian regions, where most natural gas activity is concentrated. To develop an estimate of the overall changes in production for each sector, the DPR uses recent rig activity data, but also explicitly considers:

Recent information on the productivity of the rig.
Average oil and natural gas production rates from new wells during the first full month of operation.
Estimated change in output from existing wells.

Texas

Most of the development of natural gas-fired rigs in the United States has occurred in the Haynesville area, which spans across Texas and New Mexico. The number of rigs in Haynesville increased by more than 50% between January 2020 and August 2022. Despite the relatively high prices of natural gas, drilling in Haynesville remains economical. The productivity of Haynesville’s wells and its proximity to the US Gulf Coast’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals and major industrial consumers of natural gas attract operators to the region.

Rig activity in the Appalachian region of Pennsylvania and West Virginia nears a return to the 51 operating rigs reported as of January 31, 2020; As of July 29, 2022, it had 48 natural gas-fired platforms. Improved productivity, pipeline construction and increased evacuation capacity have helped drive a long-term trend of production growth in Appalachia over the past 10 years; However, regional transport capacity limits may begin to restrict drilling activity in the region.

Oil Wells

In the Permian region, which includes West Texas and New Mexico, most natural gas production is linked to gas produced from oil wells. Permian producers respond to crude oil price fluctuations when planning their platform deployments. Crude oil prices and oil-guided rigs declined in 2020 amid maximum COVID-19 mitigation efforts.

In 2021, the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil rose steadily, averaging $68 per barrel (b) for the year, compared to $39/b in 2020. WTI prices continued to rise in 2022, averaging over $100 a barrel in the first half of the year. The number of oil-carrying rigs in the field has also increased overall from 2020 lows, but rig numbers are still down 15% from January 31, 2020, the pre-pandemic number of 406 rigs.

Source: World Nation News