US Oil Drillers Add Rigs

The United States maintained the same number of active oil and gas drilling rigs this week, according to data released by Baker Hughes on Friday, with the total rig count remaining at 588, up 49 from the same period last year. The count of active oil rigs increased by 3 to 454, marking a 43 increase from last year. Conversely, gas rigs decreased by 3 to 124, up by 1 from the same time last year. Miscellaneous rigs remained constant at 10.

On the production front, US crude oil production saw a slight rebound during the week ending July 31, averaging 13.804 million barrels per day (bpd), an increase from 13.796 million bpd the previous week and a rise of 520,000 bpd compared to the same time last year. The Primary Vision's Frac Spread Count, which estimates the number of crews completing wells, fell by 4 to 194 crews in the week ending July 31, after a 2 increase in the preceding week.

The count of active drilling rigs in the Permian Basin rose by 3 during the reporting period, reaching 263, up by 7 rigs from the same period last year. Eagle Ford's rig count stayed the same at 49, which is 11 more than last year's figures. Oil prices saw a positive trend on Friday, with Brent trading at $83.55, up 1.29% per barrel, although it was down $6 per barrel from the previous week. WTI was also trading up at $78.21, a 1.19% increase.