270 Offshore Rigs Were Active in February Worldwide

An offshore drilling rig - Image by Mike Mareen - AdobeStock
An offshore drilling rig - Image by Mike Mareen - AdobeStock

There were 270 offshore drilling rigs in the world actively drilling for oil and gas in February 2020, a slight increase compared to January 2020 (at 268), but also a slight dip versus February 2019 (at 272). This is according to Baker Hughes' February rig counts, released Friday.

International offshore rig count - not counting the U.S. and Canada - was 245, the same as in January 245, and 5 offshore drilling rig's down compared to February 2019 when there were 250 active offshore rigs.

The Asia Pacific was again the area with the largest concentration of offshore drilling units with 91 despite dropping 14 units year on year. The Middle East had 54 offshore rigs, Latin America 37, Europe 32, and Africa 31 in February 2020.

The U.S. and Canada offshore rig count rose by three units compared to February last year, with the U.S. adding all three to reach 23 in February 2020, and Canada remaining flat at its two active offshore drilling rigs.

In total, counting both onshore and offshore rigs the worldwide rig count for February 2020 was 2,125, up 52 from the 2,073 counted in January 2020, and down 181 from the 2,306 counted in February 2019.

February 2020 Rig Counts

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