Nationally, the oil and gas rig count increased by five to 511.
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Among major oil- and gas-producing states, Texas and Oklahoma each gained two rigs and Alaska, California, North Dakota and Pennsylvania each was up one.
At 418 active oil rigs, the count has not been this high since the oilfield services company’s 12 February report.
The Permian Basin oil lost one rig during the past week, the latest rig count shows. Continued growth in the rig count in the short-term, however, could be at risk if the small, independent drillers, which accounted for about two-thirds of rig additions since May, pull back if prices remain low.
A year ago, 838 rigs were active. The geopolitics of the civil wars in Yemen and Syria, as well as disagreements regarding the method of determining output levels during the length of freeze, caused the officials’ concern.
The price of WTI Crude Oil ended Friday at $44.61 per barrel, up $3 from a week earlier but down $3.65 since September 8.
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USA crude prices were down 3.8% at 44.54 a barrel on reports an output deal among top producers may not materialize next week.
