US Oil, Gas Rig Count Ticks Up Again
The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States rose this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday, after a 2-rig increase in the week prior.
The total rig count rose by 4 rigs, to 592, according to Baker Hughes, down 34 from this same time last year.
The number of oil rigs rose by 7—down by 15 compared to this time last year. The number of gas rigs fell by 2, sinking to 99 for a loss of 21 active gas rigs from this time last year. Miscellaneous rigs fell by 1 to 5.
The latest EIA data showed that weekly U.S. crude oil production for the week ending February 14 edged higher to 13.497 million bpd. The figure is still almost 200,000 bpd shy of the all-time high reached during the week of December 6, 2024.
Primary Vision’s Frac Spread Count, an estimate of the number of crews completing wells, rose to 203 during the week of February 14, compared to 198 in the week prior, and up slightly from 201 at the beginning of the year.
There was no change in drilling activity in the Permian Basin, staying at 304 active rigs—a figure that is 10 fewer than this same time last year. The count in the Eagle Ford also saw no change to the number of active drilling rigs, at 48. Rigs in the Eagle Ford are now 4 below where they were this time last year.
Oil prices were trading down on Friday before the data release. At 12:47 p.m., ET, the WTI benchmark was trading down $1.50 per barrel (-2.07%) on the day at $70.98, but up 17 cents per barrel compared to last Friday’s price. The Brent benchmark was trading down $1.48 (-1.94%) on the day at $75.00—but up roughly 18 cents per barrel compared to last Friday’s price.
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com