The rise came even as U.S. crude prices have fallen by more than a third from recent highs.
Advertisement
The oil rig count climbed again this week, according to driller Baker Hughes.
“Everyone is still looking at it saying ‘Wow, you still don’t have production coming down, ‘” said Tariq Zahir, founder at Tyche Capital in Laurel Hollow, New York.
The number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. increased this week by one to 885, although the Utah industry was unchanged.
Rig counts tell us how many rigs are actively drilling for oil and gas. The U.S. crude price of $32.40/bbl reached in 2008 “is a conceivable reality”. Here’s last week’s chart, showing that the oil rig count is perking up; the count has climbed in six out of the last seven weeks. The crude being pumped out of U.S. shale formations helped create a global glut that has pushed prices down 60% since June of past year.
Advertisement
Crude output in the U.S. dropped by 47,000 bpd to 9.35 million last week, but remains nearly 70% higher than four years ago, EIA data show.
