US Oil Drilling Picks Up: Baker Hughes

The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States rose this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday.

The total rig count in the US rose by 1 to 549 this week, according to Baker Hughes, down 35 from this same time last year.

The number of active oil rigs rose by 3 in the reporting period, according to the data, reaching 417. Year over year, this represents a 61-rig decline. The number of gas rigs fell by 3 to 125, which is 24 more than this time last year. The miscellaneous rig count rose by 1 to 7.

The latest EIA data showed that weekly U.S. crude oil production rose in the week ending November 7, with crude oil production reaching 13.862 million bpd—yet another new high—up from 13.651 million bpd in the week prior.

Primary Vision’s Frac Spread Count, an estimate of the number of crews completing wells, fell for the third week in a row, this time losing 2 in the week ending November 7. Frac crews now stand at 173, down from 201 at the beginning of the year.

The number of active drilling rigs in the Permian Basin rose by 2, reaching 253 this week, which is 520rigs under year-ago levels. The count in the Eagle Ford fell by 1 again this week, landing at 41, which is 7 fewer than this same time last year.

By 12:33 p.m. ET, the WTI benchmark was trading up on the day by $1.51 per barrel after a rocky start to the week, on track to finish out the week above $60 per barrel. The Brent benchmark was trading up $1.48 per barrel on Friday at $64.49—up nearly $1 per barrel week over week.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com

Oilprice Intelligence brings you the signals before they become front-page news. This is the same expert analysis read by veteran traders and political advisors. Get it free, twice a week, and you’ll always know why the market is moving before everyone else.

You get the geopolitical intelligence, the hidden inventory data, and the market whispers that move billions – and we’ll send you $389 in premium energy intelligence, on us, just for subscribing. Join 400,000+ readers today. Get access immediately by clicking here.