US rig market set for subdued year

Analysts agree there will not be any great leap forward in US shale drilling in 2023

Consultancy Wood Mackenzie anticipates US onshore rig additions to be “considerably more modest this year” compared with 2022, with roughly only 50 rigs added throughout the year. And other analysts concur the market will be more subdued. Woodmac also forecasts some extent of decline in gas rigs owing to softening prices and production nearing takeaway limits. “The bulk of those reductions will likely come in the Haynesville, especially as some private companies lay down rigs,” says Ryan Duman, the firm’s research director for the Lower 48 upstream. “We are looking for major producers to continue reiterating the same messages of exercising strict capital discipline, focusing on cash flow gen