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BAKKEN WIRE
North Dakota Rig Count Holds at 34, Up 10 from July - Bakken Wire
Rig Report

North Dakota Rig Count Holds at 34, Up 10 from July

The Bakken's drilling activity remains steady after significant gains over the past month, as global majors pursue high-risk offshore projects elsewhere.

Bakken Wire Staff·🌅Afternoon Wire·

The number of active drilling rigs in North Dakota remained unchanged at 34 on Sunday, August 23, according to live data from Bakken Wire. The count showed no movement, with no new rigs added, removed, or relocated since Saturday.

The current activity level represents a significant increase from recent lows. The rig count is up by two from the 32 rigs reported one week ago on August 16, and is up by ten from the 24 rigs active one month ago on July 24.

While onshore shale activity in the Bakken holds steady, major international oil companies are pursuing high-risk, high-reward drilling projects in other basins. According to a report from OilPrice.com, Mexico's Pemex and Brazil's Petrobras have formed a partnership to drill prospects in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico off Mexico's coast. The companies are targeting source rock formations described as miles deeper and eight times older than currently producing formations in the U.S. Gulf.

The report, citing geologists and analysts, states the exploration in Jurassic formations deep under the Campeche Bay seabed carries high execution risk. Pemex drilled an exploratory well over 25,600 feet deep in the area in 2018, which was declared unproductive, but has not abandoned efforts to find major resources. Petrobras brings two decades of experience from drilling in the prolific pre-salt layer offshore Brazil.

The companies signed a memorandum of understanding in June for strategic and technical cooperation to assess and develop projects in deepwater and ultra-deepwater areas, including in the Gulf of Mexico. The partnership includes the exchange of technical knowledge and leverages Petrobras's expertise in complex offshore operations, according to the OilPrice.com source.

This contrast highlights different strategic focuses within the global oil industry: steady development in established onshore plays like the Bakken versus frontier, capital-intensive exploration in deepwater frontiers. The stability in North Dakota's rig count suggests operators are maintaining a focused development pace within the Williston Basin.

Source

Bakken Wire live rig data, OilPrice.com

rig countdrilling activitybakkenwilliston basinnorth dakotaoffshoreexploration

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