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Canadian drilling activity rebounded this week, reversing part of the decline seen over the previous two weeks as natural gas drilling led the increase.
Canada’s active rig count rose by three to 207 rigs for the week ended September 11, according to the latest Baker Hughes North America Rig Count Report.
That leaves Canada with 21 more rigs operating than the 186 working during the comparable week last year, an increase of roughly 11%.
Natural gas accounted for the entire net increase and more.
Canada’s gas rig count climbed by three to 65, while oil rigs increased by one to 141. Miscellaneous rigs declined by one to just one.
Compared with a year ago, Canada has 15 more oil rigs and six more natural gas rigs operating.
The weekly increase breaks a two-week slide that had taken Canada’s rig count from 216 on August 21 to 204 on September 4. At 207, activity remains below its late-August level, but the rebound suggests the recent pullback has not yet developed into a sustained contraction.
The commodity backdrop remains highly unusual.
WTI crude settled Friday at approximately US$100.05 per barrel, while Brent finished at US$104.61, according to Reuters. Both benchmarks gained more than 8% during the week despite retreating Friday, as disruptions to Middle East oil supplies continued to keep risk premiums elevated.
Those prices provide a strong revenue backdrop for Canadian oil producers, even as companies weigh how long elevated geopolitical premiums will persist.
Natural gas tells a different story. U.S. Henry Hub futures finished around US$2.83 per MMBtu, reflecting strong production and softer seasonal demand.
Yet Canadian gas drilling increased this week despite those relatively modest benchmark prices.
That is worth watching because Western Canada’s gas market is increasingly influenced by structural changes beyond Henry Hub. Growing LNG export demand is creating an additional outlet for Western Canadian production, while producers continue to weigh regional pricing, pipeline capacity and long-term supply commitments when setting drilling programs.
The year-over-year comparison remains the clearest measure of the industry’s direction.
Canada now has roughly 11% more rigs working than it did a year ago, with both oil and gas drilling contributing to the increase. Oil rigs are up about 12% year over year, while gas rigs are up roughly 10%.
After two consecutive weekly declines, this week’s increase does not necessarily establish a new trend. But it does reinforce the underlying strength in Canadian drilling activity relative to 2025.
Canada added three rigs this week and has 21 more working than it did a year ago.
For the Canadian drilling and oilfield services sector, that year-over-year growth remains the more important story.
Source: Baker Hughes North America Rig Count Report, September 11, 2026. Commodity prices are September 11 market prices; Bloomberg Energy could not be directly verified, so contemporaneous Reuters and market data were used.
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