VOL. XLIV

No. 09

26-February-2001

Middle East Active Drilling Rig Count Highest In A Decade

Last month 170 drilling rigs were in operation in the Middle East, said by analysts to be the highest level in 10 years. In other regions rig counts were high and expected to rise as the industry responds to a relatively long period of high crude prices. According to Baker Hughes, besides the Middle East rigs (see Table below), at the end of January there were 1,717 drilling rigs active in North America,...