North American rig count slips 2 to 827 for week ended Nov. 6

By Priya Raman

North America had 827 drilling rigs working in the week ended Nov. 6, down two from the prior week, Baker Hughes reported. The US added one rig, partly offsetting Canada’s three-rig decline.

What changed across North America?

The rig count—the number of active rotary drilling units—totaled 604 in the United States and its waters. Canada accounted for 223. Together, those country totals produced the regional figure of 827.

The one-rig US increase did not lift the regional total, because Canada’s three-rig loss outweighed it and produced the reported two-rig decline for the week. The regional count remained 88 rigs above the year-earlier level. Baker Hughes reported year-earlier gains of 56 rigs in the US and 32 in Canada.

Canada finished the week at 223, down three week over week but 32 above last year. The US and its waters reached 604, up one week over week and 56 above the same period in 2025.

The headline decline came from Canada, not a broad retreat across the region.

Why did the offshore count fall?

The offshore count fell by two rigs to 12. Eleven rigs were working in the US Gulf of Mexico, also down two week over week. Baker Hughes did not identify the rigs, operators or reasons for the decline.

One rotary rig remained unchanged in US inland waters. Offshore and inland-water activity appeared as separate categories in the release. The inland figure did not cushion the two-rig offshore reduction.

The brief report offers no disclosure on suspensions, completions or rig movements, leaving readers unable to determine the status of the two removed offshore units.

The clearest US movement was a two-rig pullback in Gulf offshore activity.

Which US states drove the changes?

• Louisiana: 38 rigs working, down three week over week.
• North Dakota: 31, down one.
• Texas: 277, up two.
• New Mexico: 101, up two.
• Utah: gained one and ended with 18 working.
• Unclear final entry: one rig dropped to 18, but the text does not name the state or area.

Those four clearly identified state changes net to zero. Texas and New Mexico each added two rigs. Louisiana and North Dakota lost three and one, respectively. The summary does not provide a complete state bridge to the offshore and inland figures, so the remaining state movements cannot be identified from the brief release.

Utah’s gain is clear. The separate one-rig drop to 18 is not tied cleanly to a state in the wording. The supplied count therefore supports Utah at 18 but leaves the drop unattributed.

State gains were concentrated in Texas and New Mexico, while the final entry needs clarification.

What does the snapshot not establish?

The release identifies locations and rig counts, not the geological targets behind them. It provides no basin or play breakdown, operator names, production rates, oil-price assumptions or project-stage details. A basin is a broad geological area; a play is a target interval within it.

That omission matters. State totals cannot show which geological formation received a rig. Nor can they establish output growth, project sanctioning or operator margins.

The report also does not specify the calendar year attached to the Nov. 6 snapshot, although its US annual comparison names 2025. That limits efforts to match the tally with a particular operating cycle.

Most importantly, no executive or agency quotation explains the week-to-week moves. The sourced verdict is the count itself.

The data confirms where rigs sat, not why they moved or what they will produce.

What should be watched next?

The next Baker Hughes weekly count is the immediate watch item. It will show whether the Gulf offshore tally holds at 11 or falls further. Readers should also track whether Texas and New Mexico retain their gains of 277 and 101. Canada’s 223-rig base provides the other side of the regional balance, especially if another weekly loss pushes the North American total below the 827-rig mark.

No production forecast can rest on this tally alone. A forecast would require separate operating and market data, including a stated price assumption. That evidence is absent here.

Watch the next count for persistence, especially in the Gulf and Canada.