The total number of active drilling rigs in the United States rose by 1 this week after climbing by 2 last week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published Friday, as drillers continue to operate with restraint.
The total rig count rose to 625 this week. So far this year, Baker Hughes has estimated a loss of 154 active drilling rigs. This week’s count is 450 fewer rigs than the rig count at the beginning of 2019 prior to the pandemic.
The number of oil rigs rose by 2 to 504, down by 117 so far in 2023. The number of gas rigs fell by 1 this week to 117, a loss of 39 active gas rigs from the start of the year. Miscellaneous rigs stayed the same.
The rig count in the Permian Basin rose by 1 again this week, and is now 33 rigs below this same time last year. The rig count in the Eagle Ford also rose by 1 and is now 19 fewer than this time last year.
Primary Vision’s Frac Spread Count, an estimate of the number of crews completing unfinished, rose in the week ending October 20, to 269, up from 263 in the week prior. The frac spread count is 11 more than where it started the year.
Crude oil production levels in the United States stayed steady at 13.2 million bpd for week ending October 20, according to the latest weekly EIA estimates, the highest production level in the United States ever. U.S. production levels are now up 1 million bpd from the start of the year, according to estimated weekly figures.
At 1:00 p.m. ET on Friday, the WTI benchmark was trading up $1.17 (+1.41%) on the day at $84.38—down nearly $6 per barrel from this time last week. The Brent benchmark was trading up $1.32 (+1.50%) at $89.25 per barrel on the day—down nearly $4 per barrel from a week ago.
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
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