HUGHES' TOOL <HT> U.S. RIG COUNT DECLINES
U.S. drilling activity fell last week,
with the number of active rotary rigs dropping by five to 761,
against 1,137 working rigs one year ago, Hughes Tool Co said.
    The drilling rig count, which historically falls during the
first quarter of each year, has dropped steadily since early
January when a total of 962 rotary rigs were working. Hughes
economist Ike Kerridge said the U.S. rig count was expected to
fall to a about 700 working rigs by mid-April.
    "I think we're pretty much on track with the expectation
that the seasonal low will come in late March or early April,"
he said. "We're getting close to the bottom."
   Among individual states, Texas and Oklahoma reported gains
in drilling activity last week, with increases of 21 and 13,
respectively. Kerridge attributed the jump in activity to the
likelihood that many of the rigs were omitted from the previous
week's count because they were in transit or being prepared for
work. In the week ended March 9, the rig count for Texas and
Oklahoma fell by 23 and 13, respectively.
    Other states reported slight decreases in drilling activity
last week, Hughes said. Wyoming and Louisiana were down by six,
Kansas and Colorado lost four and Michigan and West Virginia
were down by three rigs.
    Most of the week's decrease came among rigs used for
onshore drilling, which dropped to a total of 669 from last
week's 671. A total of 74 rigs were active offshore and 1 were
working in inland waters during the week, Hughes Tool said.
    In Canada, the rig count was up 1 to 181, against 367 one
year ago.
 Reuter
