Baker Hughes Announces March 2012 Rig Counts

PR Newswire

HOUSTON, April 9, 2012

HOUSTON, April 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Baker Hughes Incorporated BHI announced today that the international rig count for March 2012 was 1,192, down 12 from the 1,204 counted in February 2012, and up 45 from the 1,147 counted in March 2011. The international offshore rig count for March 2012 was 303, down 17 from the 320 counted in February 2012 and up 8 from the 295 counted in March 2011.

The average U.S. rig count for March 2012 was 1,979, down 11 from the 1,990 counted in February 2012 and up 259 from the 1,720 counted in March 2011. The average Canadian rig count for March 2012 was 492, down 214 from the 706 counted in February 2012 and down 75 from the 567 counted in March 2011.

The worldwide rig count for March 2012 was 3,663, down 237 from the 3,900 counted in February 2012 and up 229 from the 3,434 counted in March 2011.

March 2012 Rotary Rig Counts


		March 2012			Month	February 2012			March 2011
		Land	OS	Total	Variance	Land	OS	Total	Land	OS	Total

	Europe	67	42	109	-11	72	48	120	70	48	118
	Middle East	266	46	312	1	261	50	311	247	41	288
	Africa	54	35	89	8	48	33	81	44	21	65
	Latin America	351	87	438	-1	349	90	439	335	80	415
	Asia Pacific	151	93	244	-9	154	99	253	156	105	261
International		889	303	1,192	-12	884	320	1,204	852	295	1,147

	United States	1,936	43	1,979	-11	1,948	42	1,990	1,694	26	1,720
	Canada	492	0	492	-214	706	0	706	565	2	567
North America		2,428	43	2,471	-225	2,654	42	2,696	2,259	28	2,287

Worldwide		3,317	346	3,663	-237	3,538	362	3,900	3,111	323	3,434

About the Baker Hughes Rig Counts

The Baker Hughes Rotary Rig Counts are counts of the number of drilling rigs actively exploring for or developing oil or natural gas in the United States, Canada and international markets. Baker Hughes has issued the rotary rig counts as a service to the petroleum industry since 1944, when Hughes Tool Company began weekly counts of US and Canadian drilling activity. Baker Hughes initiated the monthly international rig count in 1975.

North American rig count data is scheduled to be released at noon central time on the last working day of each week. The international rig count is scheduled to be released on the 5th working day of the month. Additional detailed information on the Baker Hughes rig counts is available from our website.

Baker Hughes is a leading supplier of oilfield services, products, technology and systems to the worldwide oil and natural gas industry. The company's 57,000-plus employees today work in more than 80 countries helping customers find, evaluate, drill, produce, transport and process hydrocarbon resources. For more information on Baker Hughes' century-long history, visit www.bakerhughes.com.

CONTACTS:
Media Relations:	Teresa Wong, +1.713.439.8110, teresa.wong@bakerhughes.com
	Pam Easton, +1.713.439.8391, pamela.easton@bakerhughes.com
Investor Relations:	Adam Anderson, +1.713.439.8039, adam.anderson@bakerhughes.com

SOURCE Baker Hughes

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs