US rig count drops for second straight week

The number of rigs extracting crude oil and natural gas in the US fell by two to 616 last week, Baker Hughes has reported.

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

The number of oil rigs fell by two units to 494 last week, which is the lowest since January last year. There were 623 oil rigs in operation at the beginning of this year, and they have been declining in numbers since.

The US natural gas rig count was unchanged at 118 last week. There were also four miscellaneous rigs in operation, which was unchanged from the prior week.

The total US oil and gas rig count was down by 163, or 21%, from a year earlier.

By Nithin Chandran

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