Baker Hughes North American Rig Count Hits 791 as Canada Adds 6 Rigs in a Week, Outpacing US Growth Rate

Baker Hughes released its weekly North American rig count on July 25, showing 791 active rigs across the United States and Canada combined for the week ending July 24. Canada added six rigs while the United States shed one, for a net weekly gain of five. North America's total rig count stands 67 rigs higher than at this point one year ago, a combined year-over-year gain of 9.3 percent.

The United States operates 587 rigs as of the most recent count, down one from the prior week's 588. US drilling activity is up 45 rigs from July 2025, when the count stood at 542, a year-over-year gain of 8.3 percent. Canada's six-rig weekly addition brought its total to 204 active rigs, up 22 from the 182 recorded in the same week last year, a year-over-year gain of 12.1 percent.

Canada Outpacing US Rig Growth by a Ratio of 1.5 to One

Canada's annualized rig growth rate of 12.1 percent is roughly 1.5 times the US rate of 8.3 percent. Over the past 12 months, Canadian operators have added 22 rigs while US operators added 45, but on a percentage basis Canada is growing its fleet considerably faster from its smaller starting base. The six-rig addition in a single week represents a 3 percent increase in Canada's active fleet in seven days. That pace of growth, if sustained, would add more than 150 rigs to Canada's count over the course of a full year.

WCS Economics Drive Canadian Activity Higher

Improving netback economics for Canadian crude producers are a primary driver of the accelerating rig count. As Oil Authority reported on July 24, Western Canadian Select crude narrowed its discount to WTI to just $9.47 per barrel, well below the historical average of $15 to $20 per barrel. A tighter WCS-WTI differential gives oil sands and heavy oil producers significantly more revenue per barrel, improving the economics of incremental drilling programs. Suncor Energy and other integrated oil sands producers in Alberta are among the primary beneficiaries of that differential improvement.

Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion has also unlocked new Asian demand for Canadian heavy crude. Canadian crude shipments to Asia rose from $500 million in 2023 to $9.3 billion in 2025, according to Oil Authority's prior reporting, creating a structural demand base that supports continued investment in Alberta production capacity. Hormuz disruptions earlier this month further redirected global heavy sour crude demand toward Canada, amplifying the WCS-WTI tightening that has sustained Canadian operator confidence through an otherwise volatile pricing period.

US Count Holds Near One-Year High Despite Price Pullback

The one-rig weekly decline in the US is within normal statistical noise and does not indicate a shift in drilling momentum. At 587 rigs, the US count is 8.3 percent above year-ago levels and represents the highest sustained count in more than 12 months. WTI crude traded at $81.95 per barrel on Sunday, a decline of $7.36 from the prior session following the US-Iran ceasefire announcement, per OilPrice.com. Operators in higher-cost basins such as the Bakken Formation or Niobrara Shale may reassess planned wells if WTI holds materially below $82 per barrel for an extended period.

Baker Hughes Rig Count: Methodology

Baker Hughes has published the North American rig count weekly since 1944, making it the industry's longest-running operational benchmark for active drilling activity. The count measures rigs actively drilling at the moment of the survey, not rigs under contract or on standby. A single active land rig typically completes between 20 and 40 wells per year depending on well depth and formation complexity. At 791 active rigs, North America is drilling at a pace consistent with 16,000 to 32,000 wells completed annually across all US and Canadian basins.