據鉆機地帶9月19日報道，美國能源信息署（EIA）稱，美國天然氣生產商目前使用的鉆機數(shù)量超過了2020年初疫情開始時的數(shù)量。

據EIA表示，在疫情暴發(fā)前，美國在用鉆機數(shù)量總體上一直在下降。2020年1月31日，當美國衛(wèi)生與公眾服務部首次宣布進入與疫情有關的公共衛(wèi)生緊急狀態(tài)時，據貝克休斯報告稱，美國有112臺天然氣鉆機在作業(yè)。

2020年上半年，以天然氣為導向的鉆機數(shù)量持續(xù)下降，2020年7月24日達到68臺的低點，這是貝克休斯自1987年以來的歷史數(shù)據中最少的。

自那時以來，天然氣鉆機數(shù)量普遍在增加，并于2022年1月恢復到疫情前的水平。據今年9月9日貝克休斯報告稱，美國有166臺天然氣鉆機在作業(yè)，比疫情開始時多了54臺。

隨著美國天然氣鉆探的增加，EIA預計天然氣產量也將增長。據政府估計，2022年8月，美國天然氣日均產量為976億立方英尺。據EIA認為，美國天然氣生產將在2022-2023年預測期內增加，2023年12月將達到日均1005億立方英尺。

美國天然氣鉆機的增長主要集中在橫跨得克薩斯州和路易斯安那州的海恩斯維爾地區(qū)。2020年1月至2022年8月，海恩斯維爾的鉆機數(shù)量增加了50%以上。盡管海恩斯維爾的油井相對較深，開發(fā)成本較高，但在海恩斯維爾鉆探仍然經濟實惠。海恩斯維爾的油井產能以及鄰近美國墨西哥灣沿岸液化天然氣（LNG）出口終端和主要工業(yè)天然氣消費者吸引了運營商前往該地區(qū)。

截至2020年1月31日，賓夕法尼亞州和西弗吉尼亞州阿巴拉契亞地區(qū)的在用鉆機幾乎恢復到51臺的水平。截至2022年7月29日，該地區(qū)擁有48臺天然氣鉆機。過去10年來，油井生產率的提高、管道建設和外購能力的增加幫助阿巴拉契亞地區(qū)產量的長期增長趨勢，然而，區(qū)域運輸能力限制可能已開始限制該地區(qū)的鉆井活動。

在橫跨西得克薩斯州和新墨西哥州的二疊紀盆地地區(qū)，大多數(shù)天然氣產量與油井生產的天然氣有關。二疊紀盆地生產商在規(guī)劃鉆機部署是會考慮原油價格波動。2020年，由于疫情封鎖措施達到峰值，原油價格和石油導向鉆機數(shù)均出現(xiàn)下降。

2021年，西得克薩斯中質原油價格穩(wěn)步上漲，全年均價為每桶68美元，而2020年為39美元/桶。WTI價格在2022年繼續(xù)上漲，上半年平均每桶超過100美元。自2020年的低點以來，該地區(qū)的石油導向鉆機數(shù)量也在普遍上升，但較2020年1月31日（疫情前的406臺）鉆機數(shù)量仍低15%。

郝芬 譯自 鉆機地帶

原文如下：

US Natural Gas Rig Numbers Surpass Pre-Pandemic Levels

U.S. natural gas producers are operating more drilling rigs now than at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) claimed.

EIA said that the number of operating rigs in the United States had generally been declining before the pandemic. On January 31, 2020 – when the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services first declared a public health emergency related to Covid-19 – Baker Hughes reported that 112 natural gas rigs were operating in the United States.

The number of natural gas-directed rigs continued to fall in the first half of 2020, reaching a low of 68 rigs on July 24, 2020, the fewest in Baker Hughes’s historical data, dating back to 1987.

Since then, the natural gas rig count has generally been increasing, returning to pre-pandemic levels in January 2022. On September 9, Baker Hughes reported that 166 natural gas rigs were operating in the United States, 54 more than at the outset of the pandemic.

As natural gas drilling increases in the United States, the EIA expects that production will grow as well. The Administration estimates that dry natural gas production averaged 97.6 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in the United States during August 2022. The EIA believes that U.S. dry natural gas production will increase throughout the 2022-2023 forecast period, averaging 100.5 Bcf/d during December 2023.

Most of the growth in natural gas-directed rigs in the United States has been in the Haynesville region, which spans Texas and Louisiana. The rig count in Haynesville increased by more than 50 percent between January 2020 and August 2022. Even though Haynesville wells are relatively deeper and more expensive to develop, drilling in Haynesville remains economical. Haynesville’s well productivity and proximity to the U.S. Gulf Coast liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals and major industrial natural gas consumers draw operators to the region.

Rig activity in the Appalachia region of Pennsylvania and West Virginia is close to returning to the 51 operating rigs reported as of January 31, 2020. It stood at 48 natural gas-directed rigs as of July 29, 2022. Improved well productivity, pipeline buildouts, and increased takeaway capacity have aided the long-term trend of production growth in Appalachia over the past 10 years, however, regional transportation capacity limits may have begun to constrain drilling activity in the region.

In the Permian region, spanning West Texas and New Mexico, most natural gas production is associated with gas produced from oil wells. Permian producers respond to fluctuations in the crude oil price when planning their rig deployment. Crude oil prices and oil-directed rigs both declined in 2020 amid peak Covid-19 mitigation efforts.

In 2021, the West Texas Intermediate crude oil price increased steadily, averaging $68 per barrel for the year, compared with $39/b in 2020. WTI prices continued to increase in 2022, averaging more than $100 per barrel in the first half of the year. The number of oil-directed rigs in the region has also been generally rising since the 2020 lows, but the rig count is still 15% below January 31, 2020, pre-pandemic count of 406 rigs.