U.S. Drillers Add 3 Oil Rigs Back To The Field

Source: Fuelfix

U.S. drillers put three oil rigs back in the field this week, Baker Hughes said Friday, still pushing the nation’s rig count higher even as crude prices fall back toward $40 a barrel.

Companies have dispatched 58 oil rigs back into the field since Baker Hughes’ oil rig count hit bottom at 316 in late May. This past week’s rise in oil rigs, while smaller than recent weekly jumps (the oil rig count climbed by 14 two weeks ago), is a sign that the earlier surge in oil prices to around $50 a barrel from $26 a barrel in February, is setting the industry in motion.

Crude prices have recently fallen below $42 a barrel, but analysts say it takes a few weeks or more for domestic drilling activity to respond to rising or falling crude prices.

In Texas, Baker Hughes data shows, the onshore rig count declined by 4 to 213, the state’s first drop in 11 weeks. Three rigs were taken out of the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas, but companies added four rigs in the Permian Basin in West Texas. The overall rig count, including gas rigs, increased by 1 to 463, Baker Hughes data shows.