M-U Rig Count Adds 1 @ 40; Haynesville Adds 2 @ 52; Nat’l Count Even
Wow! What a week for rigs last week. On Friday, Baker Hughes reported that the national count remained unchanged at 551 active rigs. However, the Pennsylvania Marcellus picked up another rig and now operates 20 rigs, the most it has operated in well over a year. Both Ohio and West Virginia remained at 13 and 7, respectively. The combined M-U count was 40 rigs last week, the most in well over a year. The M-U’s primary competitor (for attention and money), the Haynesville, added another 2 rigs last week after adding 7 the week before, for a new modern high of 52 rigs (12 more than the M-U, bummer). It’s probably too early to declare a trend, but the upshot is that more gas drilling is underway in the two largest gas plays in the country. That’s a good sign. Read More “M-U Rig Count Adds 1 @ 40; Haynesville Adds 2 @ 52; Nat’l Count Even”

Oilfield services giant Baker Hughes (BKR), a company with its fingers in many different energy pies (not just OFS) and operations in over 120 countries worldwide, issued its fourth-quarter 2025 update last week. We scoured the update, the conference call, and the latest slide deck. The company did not explicitly mention the Marcellus or Utica shale regions. However, several items from the update directly impact the outlook for the M-U region.
Last week, the Baker Hughes U.S. national rig count got wacked good, losing 10 rigs from the previous week. The national count went from 554 to 544 (as of Wednesday, when BH reported the numbers). Bummer. It had gained rigs for each of the prior three weeks. Rigs in the Marcellus/Utica remained the same last week after gaining one rig the week before. Pennsylvania has held at 18 for two weeks in a row. Ohio was the same at 13 rigs, which it has operated since September 26. West Virginia maintained its 7 rigs, which it has operated since May 30. There were 24 rigs targeting the Marcellus and 14 targeting the Utica, for a combined 38 rigs in the M-U.