The total number of active drilling rigs in the United States rose by 2 this week after climbing by 3 last week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published Friday, as drillers continue to operate with restraint.
The total rig count rose to 624 this week. So far this year, Baker Hughes has estimated a loss of 155 active drilling rigs. This week’s count is 451 fewer rigs than the rig count at the beginning of 2019 prior to the pandemic.
The number of oil rigs rose by 1 to 502, down by 119 so far in 2023. The number of gas rigs rose by 1 this week to 118, a loss of 38 active gas rigs from the start of the year. Miscellaneous rigs stayed the same.
The rig count in the Permian Basin rose by 1 this week, and is now 34 rigs below this same time last year. The rig count in the Eagle Ford fell by 1 and is now 21 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 13, to 263, up from 260 in the week prior. The frac spread count is 5 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 13, 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 12:16 p.m. ET on Friday, the WTI benchmark was trading up $0.79 (+0.88%) on the day at $90.16—up nearly $4 per barrel from this time last week. The Brent benchmark was trading up $0.95 (+1.03%) at $93.33 per barrel on the day—up nearly $4 per barrel from a week ago.
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
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