- S. Oil Rig Count Plunges To Near 2-Year Low
By Julianne Geiger - Aug 23, 2019, 12:19 PM CDT
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The US oil and gas rig count fell sharply on Friday, decreasing by 19 for the week, according to Baker Hughes. The total oil and gas rig count now stands at 916, or 128 down from this time last year. US production, however, is holding fast at 12.3 million bpd.
The total number of active oil rigs in the United States decreased by 16 according to the report, reaching 754. The number of active gas rigs decreased by 3 to reach 162.
Oil rigs have seen a loss of 106 rigs year on year, with gas rigs down 20 since this time last year. The combined oil and gas rig count is down solidly in triple-digit territory, at 128 year on year.
Year-to-date, the oil rig count has fallen from 858 active rigs since the beginning of the year to 754, while gas rigs have fallen from 187 to 162 during that same time.
Oil prices were trading up slightly on Friday ahead of the data.
At 11:37 am EST today WTI was down $1.48 (-2.67%) at $53.87—not quite $1 lower than this time last week. The Brent benchmark was also down on the day, by $1.02 (-1.70%) at $58.90—up roughly $0.40 week on week.