Arguably the most important basin in the USA, the Permian trends differently than the previously posted Appalachian Basin. There is a large ramp in rigs up through 2014, followed by a steep drop off in 2015 continuing to the first half of 2016. With the rise in oil price, the rigs pick back up at a more rapid pace and averaged over 400 in 2019.
The Permian Basin has a smaller geographical footprint than the Appalachian Basin, so the changes in the aerial extent are less dramatic. A following post will show the quarter year-over-year change in rig count by county.
Map represents horizontal rigs per county at the end of each quarter sourced from Baker Hughes.