Gulf Of Mexico Rig Count Increases

The U.S. Gulf of Mexico offshore rig count continues to rebound, according to Offshore Data Services' weekly mobile offshore rig count. This week, 149 of the 191 mobile offshore drilling rigs in the U.S. Gulf are under contract, a four-rig increase over last week's week count and a seven-rig increase on a month-to-month basis. U.S. Gulf rig fleet utilization this week is 78.0 percent. The European offshore rig count continues to decline. This week, 73 of 107 mobile offshore drilling rigs in the region are under contract, a one-rig decline from last week. European offshore rig utilization is 68.2 percent. This week, 476 of the world's mobile offshore drilling rigs are under contract, and worldwide offshore rig utilization is 75.3 percent. One rig has been reported as retired since last week, and the worldwide offshore rig fleet now consists of 632 units. In addition, another 35 mobile offshore drilling rigs are under construction.