Oil & Gas

The total number of active oil and gas drilling rigs in the United States increased by three this week, according to Baker Hughes data released on Tuesday. This brings the overall U.S. rig count to 545, which remains significantly lower by 44 rigs compared with the same period last year.

Oil-directed rigs accounted for the weekly increase, rising by three after an eight-rig decline in the previous week. The total number of active oil rigs now stands at 409, representing a year-on-year drop of 74 rigs. Meanwhile, gas rigs remained unchanged at 127, a level that is still 25 rigs higher than a year ago, while the miscellaneous rig count also held steady at nine.

Recent data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed that crude oil production slipped slightly, falling by 10,000 barrels per day in the week ending December 12 to an average of 13.843 million bpd, just shy of the all-time high. In addition, Primary Vision reported a decline in its Frac Spread Count, with the number of active completion crews dropping to 154 by the week ending December 23, 47 fewer crews than at the start of the year.

Regionally, drilling activity in the Permian Basin rose by one rig to 247, though this remains 57 rigs below last year’s level. The Eagle Ford saw a larger increase of two rigs, bringing its total to 41, which is four fewer than a year ago. In the markets, oil prices moved higher, with WTI gaining $0.50 to trade at $58.51 per barrel $2 above last Friday’s close while Brent crude rose $0.44 to $62.51 per barrel.