October 2001
Special Focus
49th annual Schlumberger Reed-Hycalog rig census
Soaring natural gas prices during the past year resulted in a dynamic U.S. rig fleet. The number of rigs in the U.S. rose after two years of declines, and the activity level of this larger fleet was even more impressive than its expanded size. The number of active rigs rose 31%, pushing utilization to 93%, which is an increase of about 19% from a year ago – a level not seen since the early 1980s.
