US oil and gas rig count up after three straight weeks of decline

The number of rigs extracting crude oil and natural gas in the US rose by two to 761 last week, after falling for three consecutive weeks, Baker Hughes reported.

PHOTO: Oil fracking drill rig in the Permian Basin in West Texas, US. Getty Images

The number of oil drilling rigs in operation in the US jumped by 10 units to 609 last week - the biggest increase since June last year.

The rig count in the Permian Basin in Texas - the biggest US oilfield - fell by two units to 352.

Gas rigs fell by eight units to 150, which was the biggest weekly decline since October 2017.

Notwithstanding the weekly decline, there were still 93 more oil rigs and 32 more gas rigs in operation than a year earlier, when activity was still hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The total US oil and gas rig count was up by 126 rigs, or 20%, from a year earlier.

By Debarati Bhattacharjee

Please get in touch with comments or additional info to news@engine.onlinee