U.S. Oil, Gas Rig Count Creeps Up With Strong Prices

The number of active oil and gas drilling rigs in the United States increased to 595 this week, according to new data released by Baker Hughes on Friday. This marks a 53-rig rise from the same period last year. Of the total, 452 were oil rigs, a 2-rig increase compared to the same time last year, and 134 were gas rigs, representing a 16-rig rise compared to last year. Miscellaneous rigs remained unchanged at 9.

Despite the uptick in rig count, weekly U.S. crude oil production dropped during the week ending September 11, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA) data. The average U.S. crude oil production for the week was 13.944 million barrels per day (bpd), slightly lower than the previous week's 13.947 million bpd but up 462,000 bpd compared to the same time last year.

The Primary Vision's Frac Spread Count, which estimates the number of crews completing wells, rebounded slightly to 184, indicating a break of a four-week losing streak. This recovery follows the lowest point since May. In the Permian Basin, the count of active drilling rigs rose by 1 to 269, which is 15 rigs above year-ago levels. The count in the Eagle Ford stayed the same at 51, a 9-rig increase from last year's figures.

Oil prices dipped on Friday before the data release. Brent crude was trading at $103.60 per barrel, down roughly $1.30 from last week, while WTI was at $100.67, down 1.22%.