SIPES Sees Sunshine
September 2003 By Robert W. Sabaté
In its May 2003 Newsletter, the Society of Independent Professional Earth Scientists voiced cautious optimism for the petroleum industry, particularly for the smaller independents. Possibly piercing the enigma of low drilling activity during a period of high oil and gas prices, the national rig count in February of 2003 rose to 879, a 19% increase from a year earlier. Of those 879 rigs, 85% are drilling for gas, as opposed to oil. More than half (57%) of them drilling below 10,000 feet. After a period of long decline, drilling permits began to recover in mid-2002. The August 25, 2003 Oil & Gas Journal counts a total of 1065 rigs running in the U.S.