Baker Hughes has issued the rotary rig counts as a service to the petroleum industry since 1944, when Hughes Tool Company began weekly counts of U.S. and Canadian drilling activity. Hughes initiated the monthly international rig count in 1975. The North American rig count is released weekly at noon central time on the last day of the work week. The international rig count is released on the fifth working day of each month.
The Baker Hughes Rig Counts are an important business barometer for the drilling industry and its suppliers. When drilling rigs are active they consume products and services produced by the oil service industry. The active rig count acts as a leading indicator of demand for products used in drilling, completing, producing and processing hydrocarbons.
| AREA | LAST COUNT | COUNT | CHANGE FROM PRIOR COUNT | DATE OF PRIOR COUNT | CHANGE FROM LAST YEAR | DATE OF LAST YEAR’S COUNT |
| US | 12-Feb-16 | 541 | -30 | 5-Feb-16 | -817 | 13-Feb-15 |
| CANADA | 12-Feb-16 | 222 | -20 | 5-Feb-16 | -160 | 13-Feb-15 |
| INTERNATIONAL | Jan-16 | 1045 | -50 | Dec-2015 | -213 | Jan-15 |
