USGS: Earthquakes hits north of Midland

Author : xpnew

Publish Date : 2021-02-07 14:46:29

Strengthening commodity prices are fueling a continued rise in the nation’s rig count as it rebounds from last year’s pandemic-related oil market crash.

In their weekly rig count, oilfield services firm Baker Hughes and data analytics firm Enverus reported an eight-rig rise in the US rig count for 392 rigs at work nationwide. This is 398 rigs below the 790 at work a year earlier.

There were 299 rigs drilling for oil, up four for the week but 377 below the 676 seeking crude last February. The number of rigs drilling for natural gas rose by four but is 19 below the 111 tallied last year.

Texas added seven rigs for 189 but is more than 50 percent below year-ago levels when 394 rigs were working, a difference of 205. New Mexico lost one rig for 61 at work for the week. Ohio was the only other sate besides Texas to gain adding two rigs to even while New Mexico was the only producing state to post a decline.

The Permian Basin added six rigs for 198, 207 rigs below the 405 drilling in the region a year earlier.

Lea County, New Mexico, was the most active county in the Permian with 32 rigs, down two for the week. Eddy County, New Mexico, followed with 29 rigs, up one.

Martin County jumped three rigs – the largest in the Permian for the week – for 24 rigs. Loving County had 18 rigs, down one. Howard County added one rig for 17 rigs drilling within county lines. Midland County and Reeves County each reported 16 rigs this week, down two for Midland and up one for Reeves.

Irion County saw its first drilling activity of the year with one rig at work.

Enverus Rig Analytics reports the US rig count is up 12 percent in the last month but still down 47 percent year over year. The largest week-over-week increases were in the Permian and the Williston.

In the Permian, Chevron has accelerated to a six-rig program after averaging five in January. NGP Partners-backed Tap Rock Operating ramped up to five rigs at the beginning of February after averaging four rigs for the last three months. Founded in 2016, Tap Rock has never run this many rigs, all of which are on federal land in Lea County. Apache dusted off a Permian drilling program that had been dormant for eight months by mobilizing a rig in Upton County. And after a nine-month drilling freeze, Battalion Oil is running a rig in Ward County.

In the Williston, Continental Resources has increased to three rigs after averaging two since May. Whiting Petroleum is now running one rig after a nine-month drilling vacation.

The US Geological Survey reported a 2.6-magnitude earthquake near Midland Sunday night.

The earthquake took place 7 miles north of Midland around 8:45 p.m. and happened at a depth of 3.1 miles, according to earthquaketrack.com. That website also reported it was the third earthquake to take place around Midland-Odessa-Gardendale-Stanton in the past seven days, the sixth in the last month and the 67th in the last 365 days.

Earthquaketrack.com also reported an earthquake around 8 miles north-northwest of Midland on Jan. 17.

By contrast, earthquaketrack.com reports 662 earthquakes have taken place in a region that includes Perry, Oklahoma.

A quake with a magnitude of 2.5 to 5.4 is “often felt, but only causes minor damage,” according to Upseis, an educational site for seismologists. There are about 30,000 quakes each year, according to the site.