U.S. Oil Drillers Back Off Even As Prices Soar

The total number of active oil drilling rigs in the United States remained steady this week, according to data released by Baker Hughes on Friday. The rig count stood at 603, marking a 55-rig increase compared to the same period last year. Oil rig activity declined by 3, reaching 459 units, up 41 from the prior year. Conversely, gas rig numbers rose by 1 to 133, a 12-rig gain from last year.

Miscellaneous rig types saw a 2-unit increase to 11. Meanwhile, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that weekly U.S. crude oil production dipped this week ending October 9, averaging 13.679 million barrels per day (bpd), down from 13.979 million bpd the previous week and a modest 43,000 bpd rise from a year ago.

The Frac Spread Count, an estimate of crews completing wells, rose for the fifth consecutive week to 203, a 7-drill increment from the previous week. In the Permian Basin, active drilling rigs dropped by 2 to 272, which is 21 rigs above year-ago levels. The Eagle Ford rig count remained unchanged at 49, up 5 from last year. Oil prices softened ahead of the data release, with Brent crude trading at $105.60 per barrel, down 0.30%, and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) at $97.56 per barrel, down 0.42%. Despite the price dip, WTI was still up nearly $6 per barrel from the same period last week.