Industry at a Glance
Despite consistently higher oil prices over the last several months, U.S. shale drillers continued to show restraint, limiting activity in favor of working down the DUC backlog. In August, there were 5,713 DUC wells in the U.S., 26% fewer than the year-ago tally of 7,665. U.S. drilling activity surged slightly, with an average of 503 rigs working in August, 20 more than reported in July. The largest gain was in Texas, which experienced an increase of six rigs to average 231 in August. Operators added five rigs in Wyoming for a total of 17. Crude prices retreated in August, with WTI and Brent dropping 6.6% and 5.9%, respectively. International activity averaged 896 rigs in July, 35 more more than in June. The gain was mainly in Canada, where operators added 42 units to average 145.
