The oil rig count has risen by 76 since the week ended July 1, the most weekly additions in a row since April 2014, after USA crude prices touched $50/bbl.
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Oil futures barely budged on Friday after data from Baker Hughes revealed that the number of active USA rigs drilling for oil rose by 10 to 406 in the latest week. Worldwide rigs amounted to 938 in July, down 180 over the same time past year.
North Dakota declined by two and New Mexico was down one.
Crude futures, however, have surged almost $10 a barrel, or more than 20 percent, in just over two weeks on speculation that Saudi Arabia and other key members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will agree next month to a production freeze deal with non-OPEC members led by Russian Federation.
Rigs above 400 is the first time since February 26th week.
The regional benchmark Plains-West Texas Intermediate Posting ended Friday at $45 per barrel.
Last week, the oil rig count jumped by 15. Output climbed by 152,000 barrels a day last week, in part because of an adjustment to address disparities between weekly and monthly data, the Energy Information Administration said Wednesday.
Explorers in the Permian Basin of West Texas again led the week’s advance, bringing seven rigs back to work, for a total of 196 oil rigs in the nation’s biggest field.
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