US oil rig count falls to lowest since March last year

The number of rigs extracting crude oil and natural gas in the US fell by six to 669 last week, which is the lowest since March 2022, Baker Hughes has reported.

PHOTO: Oilfield worker welds an end cap to a pipe as sparks fly next to a derrick at an oil and gas drilling pad site. Getty Images

The number of oil rigs fell by seven units to 530 last week, which is the lowest since March last year. The gas rig count fell by two units to 131. There were also eight miscellaneous rigs, three more than the prior week.

The total oil and gas rig count in the Permian Basin in Texas - the biggest US oil field – dropped by four units to 333.

U.S. 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 touched last year. The EIA says U.S. oil output will likely drop in August for the first time this year, reflecting the pullback in activity.

The total US rig count is down by 89 rigs, or 12%, from a year earlier.

By Debarati Bhattacharjee

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