US Oil, Gas Rig Count Falls
The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States slipped this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday, after a 1-rig increase in the week prior.
The total rig count fell by 1 rig, to 592, according to Baker Hughes, down 30 from this same time last year.
The number of oil rigs stayed the same—down by 18 compared to this time last year. The number of gas rigs fell by 1 to 101 for a loss of 14 active gas rigs from this time last year. Miscellaneous rigs were unchanged at 5.
The latest EIA data showed that weekly U.S. crude oil production for the week ending February 28 ticked up slightly, to 13.508 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 214 during the week of February 28, compared to 210 in the week prior, and up from 201 at the beginning of the year. The latest data reflects the highest frac spread count this year.
There was a 1-rig slide in drilling activity in the Permian Basin, falling to 304 in the most prolific basin—a figure that is 9 fewer than this same time last year. The count in the Eagle Ford saw an increase of 1 active drilling rig, coming in at 49. Rigs in the Eagle Ford are 3 below where they were this time last year.
Oil prices were trading up on Friday before the data release. At 12:20 p.m., ET, the WTI benchmark was trading up $0.81 per barrel (+1.22%) on the day at $67.17, more than $2.50 under last Friday’s price. The Brent benchmark was trading up $0.95 (+1.37%) on the day at $70.41—and down from this time last week.
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
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