The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States rose this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday.
The total rig count in the US rose to 537, according to Baker Hughes, down 45 from this same time last year. The rig count is still near four-year lows.
The number of oil rigs rose by 2, landing at 414. Year over year, this represents a 69-rig decline. The number of gas rigs fell by 1, to 118 for a gain of 24 active gas rigs from this time last year. The miscellaneous rig count stayed the same at 5.
The latest EIA data showed that weekly U.S. crude oil production slipped in the week ending August 29, from 13.439 million bpd to 13.423 million bpd. This is a 140,000-barrel-per-day drop from the beginning of the year.
The frac spread count adds to the grim picture for US drillers. Primary Vision’s Frac Spread Count, an estimate of the number of crews completing wells, fell again—this time by 3 during the week of August 29, to 162. This is the lowest frac spread count in more than four years—a testament to the challenging oil price environment that drillers are facing.
The downtrend is manifesting plainly in the Permian basin, in which drillers have been taking it easy in recent months, falling by one more rig in this reporting period. Active rigs in the Permian are now 52 under where they were this time last. The count in the Eagle Ford stayed the same at 39, which is 9 fewer than this time last year.
At 10:14 p.m. ET, the WTI benchmark was trading down $1.51 per barrel (-0.2.38%) on the day at $61.97—nearly $2 under last week’s prices. The Brent benchmark was trading down $1.41 (-2.10%) on Friday at $65.58.
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
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