US oil and gas rig count slips for sixth straight week

The number of rigs extracting crude oil and natural gas in the US fell by 12 to 642 last week - its lowest level since February 2022, Baker Hughes has reported.

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

The rig count fell for the sixth time in a row and for the fifteenth time in the last 16 weeks.

The number of oil rigs fell by five units to 520 and hit its lowest level since February 2022. The gas rig count fell by six to 117. There were also five miscellaneous rigs in operation, one less than in the prior week.

The total oil and gas rig count in the Permian Basin in Texas - the biggest US oil field – remained unchanged at 327.

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 120 rigs, or 16% from a year earlier.

By Debarati Bhattacharjee

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