US rig count up for fourth straight week

The number of rigs extracting crude oil and natural gas in the US rose by one to 626 last week, 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 two to 503 last week, reflecting the dropping of one unit in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico – the biggest American oilfield.

The US natural gas rig count grew by three units to 119 last week – the highest in 12 weeks. There were also four miscellaneous rigs in operation, the same as the prior week.

The total US oil and gas rig count was down by 154, or 20% from a year earlier.

By Debarati Bhattacharjee

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