As we do every month, MDN tracks how many rigs oilfield services company Patterson-UTI Energy reports operating–as a proxy for when/if the drop in rig counts for the Marcellus/Utica will turn around. Patterson operates a number of rigs in the northeast, as well as other areas of the continental United States (and Canada). Previously Patterson’s December rig count number went down by 10% from November–from 91 in November to 82 in December. The count has dropped again for January–down to 78 active rigs for the month. For many months Patterson’s Canadian rig count has stood at four. Below is the announcement for January’s numbers, along with a chart we’ve created showing Patterson’s average monthly rig count number from March 2015 through January 2016…
