Baker Hughes reported another 3-rig increase to the number of oil and gas rigs this week.
The total number of oil and gas rigs now stands at 981, which is an addition of 225 rigs year over year.
The number of oil rigs in the United States increased by a single rig this week, and now stands at 800, or 191 over this time last year. The number of gas rigs, which rose by 2 this week, now stands at 181, or 35 rigs above this week last year.
Canada lost another 4 rigs this week after losing 12 last week. The losses were 6 for gas, while oil gained 2.
At 11:45 am EST, the price of a WTI barrel was trading down $0.22 (-0.36%) to $60.77-dollars below last week's price. The Brent barrel was also trading down on the day, by $0.02 (-0.03%) to $63.81. That represents a $3 fall for the benchmark in a week. The market bristled in early trading after President Donald Trump on Thursday announced his plan for imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum. Many in the oil industry spoke out against the plan, on the grounds that the tariffs would kill jobs in the energy industry as costs for infrastructure projects would likely skyrocket.
US crude oil production rose in the week ending February 23 to 10.283 million bpd-resuming its steadfast climb of recent weeks after a tiny hiccup last week when it fell from a high of 10.271 million bpd to 10.270 million bpd. This week is the highest production figure for the U.S. ever.
By basin, the Marcellus gained two rigs. The Williston basin lost 2. Cana Woodford, DJ-Niobrara, and the Permian all lost a single rig.
At 1:11pm EST, oil had rallied somewhat, with WTI trading at $61.14 (+$0.15) and Brent trading at $64.17 (+$0.34).
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
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Julianne Geiger is a veteran editor, writer and researcher for Oilprice.com, and a member of the Creative Professionals Networking Group. More