North Dakota Rig Count Of Interest To Reuters Analyst -- January 26, 2015

From Reuters:

The decline in oil drilling that has occurred so far across the United States is probably enough to ensure U.S. production peaks by April or May, though that might not be evident until June or July given delays in publishing production records.

If the number of active rigs continues to decline in the next few weeks, which seems likely, it is reasonably likely U.S. oil production will be falling by June or July 2015.

In North Dakota, the number of rigs drilling for oil has fallen by almost a quarter in less than four months, according to oil field services company Baker Hughes. Baker Hughes puts the number of active drilling rigs in the state at just 147 last week, down from 189 at the beginning of October, and the lowest number since December 2010.

Baker Hughes counts rigs as active only when they are actually drilling – from the time the rig breaks ground and the well is spudded to the time the rig reaches target depth.

Meanwhile, things are not looking too good for the Russians. Also from Rigzone:

Russia's proven hydrocarbon reserves will increase much less than previously expected in 2015, the Russian Environment Ministry said on Monday, as lower oil prices and Western sanctions discourage exploration efforts. The ministry said it expected proven reserves to grow by around 500 million tones of oil and 650 billion cubic metres of gas this year, having previously seen growth of more than 750 million tonnes and 1.5 trillion cubic metres a year, respectively, between 2015 and 2020.

It's going to be a different world in 2020.