Patterson-UTI reports that for the month of April 2011, co had an avg of 201 drilling rigs operating, including 197 rigs in the United States and 4 rigs in Canada (PTEN).
This is the annual dip cause by Spring Break-up in Canada.
PTEN's active rig count starts going up again in June and it should be up to over 230 active rigs by year-end. They have 25 new APEX rigs coming to the market this year. 18 of them already have long-term contracts in place. These rigs are perfect for the shale plays and they are high demand.
PTEN rig count
PTEN rig count
Dan Steffens
Energy Prospectus Group
Energy Prospectus Group