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US Land Rig Count Falls by 2 as Permian Activity Declines, RBC Says

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The US active land drilling rig count fell by two week over week to 565, driven by lower activity in the Permian Basin, while oilfield services stocks outperformed alongside higher crude prices, RBC Capital Markets analysts said in a Friday note.

Citing Baker Hughes (BKR) data, RBC said the US oil-directed land rig count declined by two to 430, while the gas-directed rig count was unchanged at 126. Compared with a month earlier, oil rigs were up by eight, and gas rigs by five.

The Permian Basin lost five rigs during the week, leaving 256 active rigs. The basin accounts for about 60% of oil rigs in the Lower 48 states and 45% of the total US land rig fleet, RBC said.

Helmerich & Payne (HP) remained the largest drilling contractor in the Permian with 90 rigs, followed by Patterson-UTI Energy (PTEN) with 34 rigs and Nabors Industries (NBR) with 29 rigs.

Exxon Mobil (XOM) was the basin's most active operator with 34 rigs, ahead of Devon Energy (DVN) with 22 and Occidental Petroleum (OXY) with 21. Private operators accounted for 43% of active Permian rigs, up from 41% a year earlier.

Elsewhere, the Eagle Ford added three rigs to 47, while the Williston Basin was unchanged at 27 rigs.

RBC said oilfield services stocks under its coverage gained 4.0% over the week, outpacing a 3.7% rise in the 2026 WTI crude strip to $71 per barrel. Baker Hughes led the group with a 9.1% gain, followed by Patterson-UTI, up 8.4%, and Helmerich & Payne, up 6.5%.

For the year to date, RBC's oilfield services coverage group has advanced 31.4%, compared with a 10.9% gain for the S&P 500.

Meanwhile, the 2026 Brent crude strip rose 3.5% to $75 per barrel, while the 2026 Henry Hub natural gas strip fell 5.1% to $3.32 per million cubic feet, leaving it nearly 15% below year-ago levels, RBC said.

Price: $34.07, Change: $+0.74, Percent Change: +2.22%

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