As we do each month, MDN tracks how many rigs oilfield services company Patterson-UTI Energy reports operating–as a proxy for rig count health in general and rig count health in the Marcellus/Utica in particular. Patterson operates many rigs in our region. Last April, Patterson bought out and merged in Seventy Seven Energy (SSE). The addition of SSE’s rigs served to rocket Patterson’s rig count number in April and May much higher (see Patterson-UTI Rig Count Continues to Rocket Skyward – 159 in May). With SSE fully absorbed into Patterson, the rig count number settled down. In September Patterson’s rig count slipped by 1–the first loss since June 2016. In October the count retreated another three, to 158. But the trend reversed in November when the the count jumped again–back up to 161. The numbers for December were just released and show Patterson’s monthly active rig count hit 163–which is a new, all-time high…
