By April 22, 2016 Read More →

U.S. rig count down again, Canadian count remains steady

U.S. rig count at lowest level

rig count

The US rig count has sharply fallen in response to the crude market free fall that began in mid 2014.  Exxon Twitter photo.

HOUSTON _ Energy supply giant Baker Hughes says the oil and gas rig count in the United States dropped again this past week.
According to their report, there were 431 rigs operational in the US during the week ending April 22, which is down from 440 last week.  This time last year, there were 932 rigs up and running.
When looking at all oil producing states, Texas lost the lion’s share of rigs, with seven fewer reported.  Louisiana and Ohio both had one less rig.
Alaska, California, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming all reported no gains or losses in their rig counts.
In Canada, the number of rigs remained steady at 40, with 12 oil rigs, 27 gas rigs and one miscellaneous rig up and running.
One year ago, there were 79 oil and gas rigs in Canada.
Energy firms have sharply reduced oil and gas drilling since the collapse in crude markets began in mid-2014. U.S. crude futures fell from over $107 a barrel in June 2014 to a near 13-year low around $26 in February.
Schlumberger NV said in earnings release on Friday it will remain cautious in adding capacity even after energy firms show signs of recovery since it believes the industry will continue cutting costs through the coming quarter. The world’s No. 1 oilfield services provider said its first quarter revenue decrease was one of the steepest quarterly declines for the company since this downturn started driven in part by a drop in activity, persistent pricing pressure, project delays, job cancellations and activity disruptions.
U.S. crude futures this week were heading for a third week of gains, trading around $43 a barrel, as market sentiment turned more upbeat despite the persistent oversupply. U.S. crude futures were fetching around $45 a barrel for the balance of 2016 and about $47 for calendar 2017 .
Analysts at Cowen & Co, a U.S. financial services firm, expect U.S. oil and natural gas land rigs to bottom between 375 and 400 sometime in the second quarter before increasing in the fourth quarter. The total land rig count was 409 in the week ended April 15, according to Baker Hughes.
(Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Marguerita Choy)

Posted in: News

Comments are closed.