Baker Hughes Rig Count: US Rig Count Declines by Four
The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States saw a decline this week, marking the second consecutive drop. Baker Hughes reported a decrease of four rigs, bringing the total count to 576. This represents a decrease of 45 rigs compared to the same period last year.
The count of oil rigs decreased by six, resulting in a total of 477. This is a reduction of 27 rigs year-over-year. Gas rigs increased by one, reaching a total of 99, although this still reflects a loss of 20 active rigs compared to last year. Miscellaneous rigs also saw a modest increase of one, reaching a total of five.
Weekly US crude oil production declined to 13.477 million barrels per day (bpd). This is a slight decrease from the previous week's 13.481 million bpd. The figure remains below the all-time high of 13.631 million bpd set in December 2024.
Frac Spread Count, an estimate of crews completing unfinished wells, also declined for the second week in a row. The count now stands at 188, down from 195 last week. This is the lowest level since March 2021.
Drilling activity in the Permian Basin saw a drop of six rigs, resulting in a total of 298 active rigs. This is 12 fewer than last year at the same time. The rig count in the Eagle Ford increased by one for the second consecutive week, reaching a total of 45. However, this is still nine rigs below last year's count.
Oil and gas prices declined in the lead-up to the data release. At 12:46 p.m. ET, the WTI benchmark was trading down $0.32 per barrel (-0.43%), while the Brent benchmark was down $0.08 (-0.10%).