Oil Rig Count Declines as WTI Drops Below $70

The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States fell this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday, following a 1 rig gain in the prior week.

The total rig count in the US fell by 1 to 592 rigs, according to Baker Hughes, down 29 from this same time last year.

The number of oil rigs slipped by 2 to 484—down by 22 compared to this time last year. The number of gas rigs rose by 1 this week to 103 for a loss of 9 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 held essentially stead, rising from 13.573 million bpd to13.574 million bpd. The figure is just 57,000 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 during the week of March 21 to 215, compared to 212 in the week prior, and up from 201 at the beginning of the year.

There was a 3-rig slide in drilling activity in the Permian Basin, falling to 297 in the most proflic basin—a figure that is 19 fewer than this same time last year. The count in the Eagle Ford held steady at 48. Rigs in the Eagle Ford are 7 below where they were this time last year.

Oil prices were trading down on Friday before the data release. At 12:11 p.m., ET, the WTI benchmark was trading down $0.68 per barrel (-0.97%) on the day at $69.24, which is a $1 per barrel jump from last Friday’s price. The Brent benchmark was trading down $0.57 (-0.77%) on the day at $73.46—a $1.25 per barrel increase from last Friday.  WTI crude has slumped almost $17 per barrel—from almost $87 per barrel—since this time last year.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com