The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States fell again this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday.
The total rig count in the US slipped to 536, according to Baker Hughes, down 47 from this same time last year. The rig count is still near four-year lows.
The number of oil rigs rose by 1, landing at 412. Year over year, this represents a 71-rig decline. The number of gas rigs fell by 3, to 119 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 rose in the week ending August 22, from 13.382 million bpd to 13.439 million bpd—the highest rate since the end of April.
Primary Vision’s Frac Spread Count, an estimate of the number of crews completing wells, fell by 2 during the week of August 22, to 165, just two above the low point for the year. The count is now 50 below where it was on March 21.
Drilling activity in the Permian basin has been on a downward spiral in recent weeks, but the count has stayed steady for two weeks in a row. Active rigs in the Permian are now 50 under where they were this time last year. The count in the Eagle Ford stayed the same also, at 39, which is 9 fewer than this time last year.
At 12:43 p.m. ET, the WTI benchmark was trading down $0.52 per barrel (-0.80%) on the day at $64.08—nearly $0.50 above last week’s prices. The Brent benchmark was trading down $0.46 (-0.67%) on Friday at $68.16.
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
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