Recent rig count data suggests that there are no big moves over or under for offshore rig counts from February through end of March 2017.
Baker Hughes released its latest US rig count numbers on Friday, 31 March, showing an increase of four units over week ago, bringing the number to 22 units in total. A year ago there were 26 units in the Gulf of Mexico.
The state-by-state count shows that the overwhelming majority of the 22 units are offshore Louisiana (21) and Texas (1), as of 31 March. The Baker Hughes Rig Count also shows one rig working offshore Canada.
For a complete look at the offshore rig market, InfieldRigs, a Wood Mackenzie business, shows there are 643 MODUs (mobile offshore drilling units) worldwide, with 360 contracted, presenting a utilization of 55%. These numbers are down by 1 rig from last month (9 March 2017) when there were 362 contracted rigs out of 644.
| Rig Type | Total Rigs | Contracted | Available | Utilization |
| Drillship | 95 | 60 | 35 | 63% |
| Jackup | 403 | 222 | 181 | 55% |
| Semisub | 118 | 63 | 55 | 53% |
| Tenders | 27 | 15 | 12 | 55% |
| Total | 643 | 360 | 283 | 55% |
Source: InfieldRigs data, April 3, 2017.
In North America, InfieldRigs' data shows that there are 65 rigs, with only 35 contracted, presenting a utilization of 53%.
The highest utilization goes to the Middle East/Caspian region (69%) and Latin America (60%), respectively. In the Middle East/Caspian, there are 86 of 124 rigs contracted. In Latin America, 60 of 100 rigs are contracted.
Image: Maersk Venturer drillship.
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