US oil and gas rig count drops for fourth consecutive month

The number of rigs extracting crude oil and natural gas in the US fell by ten to 632 last week - its lowest level since February 2022, Baker Hughes has reported.

PHOTO: Oil field with pump jacks in the US. Getty Images

The rig count fell for the fourth month in a row and for the sixteenth time in the last 17 weeks.

The number of oil rigs fell by eight units to 512 and hit its lowest level since February 2022. The gas rig count fell by two to 115 – the lowest since January 2022. There were also five miscellaneous rigs in operation.

The total oil and gas rig count in the Permian Basin in Texas - the biggest US oil field – dropped by seven to 320, their biggest drop since June 2020.

US oil and gas producers have slowed drilling activity in recent months after oil and gas prices cooled in the first half of this year from record highs recorded last year. The EIA says US oil output will likely drop in August, which could be the first month of decline this year.

The total US rig count is down by 133, or 17% from a year earlier.

By Debarati Bhattacharjee

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