Baker Hughes reported on Friday that the number of oil and gas rigs in the US fell again this week by 17, falling to 301, with the total oil and gas rigs sitting at 683 fewer than this time last year—a near 70% drop off in a single year.
The number of oil rigs decreased for the week by 15 rigs, according to Baker Hughes data, bringing the total to 222—compared to 800 active rigs in play this time last year.
The total number of active gas rigs in the United States fell by 2 to 77 according to the report. This compares to 184 rigs a year ago.
The significant fall in the rig count over the last couple of months is also reflected in the steady decline of EIA’s estimate for oil production in the United States, which fell again this week to 11.4 million barrels of oil per day on average for week ending May 22, which is 1.7 million bpd off the all-time high and 100,000 bpd lower than the week prior. It is the eighth straight weekly production decline.
Canada’s overall rig count decreased by 1 rigs this week, to 20 rigs. Oil and gas rigs in Canada are now down 65 year on year.
At 12:23 pm, WTI was trading down 0.86% at $33.42. Although down on the day this is nearly $0.50 up week over week. The Brent benchmark was trading down 1.19% at $34.87 on the day and flat week over week. The price dip on Friday is likely the result of increased China vs. United States tensions over China’s role in both the coronavirus pandemic and its new security plan for Hong Kong.
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
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