The number of drilling rigs in operation around the world has dropped by around 27% since January, according to Baker Hughes, with just 1,51 units operating (1,267 onshore and 247 offshore). At the beginning of January, the number of rigs operating was 2,1 thousand. Compared to April 2019, the drop was 30% (626 units).
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Baker did not describe the reasons for what happened, however, the decrease in the fleet of rigs in activity coincides precisely with the Covid-19 pandemic that is affecting the whole world. The fact is that the pandemic has reduced demands for oil and derivatives, due to social isolation worldwide.
Since January, the shrinkage of the fleet of rigs in activity in Europe reached 15,8%, while in Africa, Asia and the Middle East the reductions were 9,6%, 14% and 2,3% respectively. Since the beginning of the year, operations in Canada were the ones that suffered the greatest impact, reaching a low of 83,8%, while in the US the reduction was 28,4%.
In Latin America as a whole, active rigs fell by around 50% from March to April, from 169 rigs to 89. In this case, the high value of the reduction is also due to the fact that Baker Hughes does not consider data from Argentina in April, which had 38 rigs operating in March.
In Brazil, the number of drilling rigs in operation did not vary significantly. In January, there were 13 in operation, in February 15, in March 17 and last month there were 13, nine offshore and four onshore. The average number of rigs in operation in 2020 for now is 14,5, against an average of 10 in the same period in 2019.
According to the National Petroleum Agency (ANP), there are 14 exploratory wells in operation in Brazil, in the Recôncavo, Espírito Santo, Sergipe, Santos and Potiguar basins. The last well drilled was in Sul de Gato de Mato, by Shell in early March. The Agency considers the wells in which there was intervention with a rig, including drilling and long-term testing (TDL), in the last fortnight.
