US oil and gas rig count slipped for third consecutive week

The number of rigs extracting crude oil and natural gas in the US fell by four to 749 last week, Baker Hughes reported.

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

It fell for the third consecutive week and recorded the lowest number of weekly oil and natural gas rigs in operation since June 2022.

The number of oil drilling rigs in operation in the US plunged by eight units to 592 last week - the lowest oil rig count since September. The gas rig count, meanwhile, rose by three units to 154.

Crude oil and natural gas producers have been reducing their activity levels as prices have by and large gradually traded lower for since November last year. US drilling activity is likely to be slower through rest of this year and next year, according to Reuters analyst John Kemp.

The rig count in the Permian Basin in Texas - the biggest US oilfield – dropped by four units to 349.

However, the total US oil and gas rig count was up by 99 rigs, or 15%, from a year earlier, when activity was still muted after a long period of Covid-19 pandemic restrictions.

By Debarati Bhattacharjee

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