October 2006
Special Report
Record number of newbuilds joins the rig fleet
The anticipated debut of newly manufactured units has begun. This increased capacity is the primary factor impacting this year’s dynamic US rig fleet, according to the 53rd annual ReedHycalog Rig Census. The numbers of available rigs in the US, Canada, global offshore mobile, and international land rig markets all rose this year. Strong commodity pricing helped to put these new units and many previously idle rigs to work, and fleet utilization rose in most markets.
ReedHycalog continues to work closely with RigData to compile the US census, Nickle’s Rig Locator to monitor Canadian activity, and ODS-Petrodata to summarize the global offshore mobile rig fleet. The international land rig fleet will also be examined for the second year, as we expand our scope and refine our methodology to get a better picture of the global rig market.
