The final US oil and gas rig count for the year decreased this week, according to Baker Hughes, reaching 805 rigs after decreasing by 8 for the week, according to Baker Hughes. The total oil and gas rig count is now 278 down from this time last year—a nearly 26% drop.
For oil rigs, this week saw an decrease of 8 rigs, according to Baker Hughes data. The total number of active gas rigs in the United States held steady for the week according to the report, at 125 This compares to 198 a year ago.
The number of oil rigs have declined by 207 this year alone, but production has grown from 11.7 million bpd at the beginning of the year to 12.8 million bpd, for week ending Dec 20—just 100,000 bpd off the all-time high from a few weeks ago.
Oil prices were down on Friday ahead of the data on rumors that OPEC and allies may decide to quit its agreement to curb production at some point next year, and may ease the existing cuts as early as March.
The WTI benchmark at 9:58am was $61.51 per barrel, roughly up $1 from this time last week, but down $0.17 (-0.28%) on the day. The Brent benchmark was trading down, at $66.59. up roughly $1.25 per barrel from last week but down $0.17 (-0.25%) on the day.
Canada’s overall rig count decreased this week, with oil and gas rigs falling by a whopping 50, adding onto last week’s 4-rig decrease. Oil and gas rigs in Canada now stand at just 99, up 29 year on year.
At 6 minutes past the hour, WTI was trading at $61.71 and Brent was trading at $66.85.
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
ADVERTISEMENT
More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
- Why This Oil Price Rally Won’t Last
- What Will The Average Oil Price Be In 2020?
- The 10 Most Important Oil Market Trends For 2020
The number of oil rigs has declined by 207 this year alone. And still, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) and its partners in hype the International Energy Agency (IEA) and Rystad Energy are still talking of US oil production of 12.8 million barrels a day (mbd) this year rising to 13.8 mbd in 2020.
The EIA’s production figures are based on both estimation and hype. US production is over-stated by at least 2 mbd. This means that US oil production will average this year at 10.8-11.0 mbd and around 10 mbd in 2020.
Dr Mamdouh G Salameh
International Oil Economist
Visiting Professor of Energy Economics at ESCP Europe Business School, London