Output = Stroke Volume x Strokes/Minute; US Rig Counts Increased For Third Week In A Row

Output = stroke volume x strokes/minute.

That's the formula for cardiac output.

It works for any "output" being measured.

So, this is interesting to see. Yahoo!Finance/MarketRealist is reporting that rig counts increased for the third week in a row:

Rig counts represent how many rigs are actively drilling for hydrocarbons (oil and gas). Baker Hughes, an oilfield services company, reports rig counts weekly. The company notes that rig count trends are “governed by oil company exploration and development spending, which is influenced by the current and expected price of oil and natural gas.” So rig counts can represent how confident oil and gas producers feel about the drilling environment. As rig counts show one measure of oil and gas drilling activity, the figure can also be a useful indicator to gauge the activity levels of oilfield service companies such as Baker Hughes, Halliburton, Schlumberger, and Weatherford.

MarketRealist looks at this data point from an investment opportunity standpoint.

I look at it from the Bakken potential standpoint.

Output=stroke volume x strokes/minute. The more rigs, the more strokes/minute across the Bakken.

It's been reported several times now, most recently by EIA, that Bakken rig efficiency (I prefer "effectiveness") is getting better, and is the best of all shale plays in the universe. And the number of rigs in the North Dakota Bakken is at 185. This is not a record, but it's off it's lows, and trending upward. I haven't done the rig-by-operator breakdown recently, but for the past two years there has been only one rig in the "EOG-owned" Parshall oil field. Today there are five, with a sixth right on the line, also operated by EOG.