The decline in the USA rig count decelerated again to a drop of just four rigs in the count released by Baker Hughes Inc. on Friday (Sept. 25).
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A ConocoPhillips rig works in South Texas’ Eagle Ford shale. The…
Because markets in China will be closed for a week-long holiday from 1 October, during which time hardly any economic data will be published from China either, there will be no further disruptive factors from this side, at least temporarily, which could give oil prices a boost.
The reductions over the past few weeks have cut into the 47 oil rigs that energy firms added in July and August after some drillers followed through on plans to add rigs announced in May and June when USA crude futures averaged $60 a barrel.
Utah was one of 10 states in which the rig counts were unchanged, Houston-based Baker Hughes said Friday in its weekly report. Rigs targeting natural gas fell by one to a total of 197, and miscellaneous rigs rose from zero to one.
The oil rig count has been volatile of late. Crude oil production in North Dakota was 1.2 million barrels per day in July, the last full month for which data are available.
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The U.S. Offshore rig count is 33, up 2 rigs from last week, and down 29 rigs year over year.
