Canadian Drilling – One More Down Week To the Bottom of Spring Break Up

For the week of May 9, Baker Hughes reported that the Western Canadian gas-directed rig count was unchanged at 46 (blue line and text in left hand chart below), 10 less than one year ago and remained within the five-year range. The oil-directed rig count dropped six to 67 (red line and text in right hand chart), nine more than a year ago and remained just above the five-year range. The additional pullback in oil rigs followed a seasonal pattern known as spring break up, when rig movement is reduced due to restrictions on the transportation of heavy equipment in some regions because of the thawing of surface conditions. The latest rig tally may finally represent the bottom of this year’s spring break up.