Rig count drops to 440 in US
HOUSTON _ On Friday, Baker Hughes reported the rig count in the United States and Canada continued to fall, with the number of rigs searching for oil and natural gas at an all time low of 440 for the week ending on Apr. 15.
According to the oilfield supply giant, the number of operational oil rigs in the U.S. last week was 440, down by 3. This time last year, there were 954 oil and gas rigs working in the United States.
Of the major oil producing states, Texas saw the biggest drop with three fewer rigs while Alaska, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Wyoming were all down by one rig. California, Colorado, Ohio, Oklahoma, Utah and West Virginia all stayed steady while Kansas and Louisiana both gained one rig. New Mexico bucked the trend by increasing its rig count by two.
This past week, there were 194 rigs up and running in Texas, down significantly from the 412 rig count at this time in 2015.
In Canada, there was an overall drop of one rig seeking oil and natural gas. The number of oil rigs north of the border was up by two to a total of ten while the number of natural gas rigs dropped by 3, from 33 to 30.
The price of oil rallied this week to hover around the $40 a barrel mark, however, analysts are concerned there may not be an production cap agreement reached at the OPEC summit in Qatar this weekend. If a deal is not reached, some analysts fear the price of oil could fall back to $30 a barrel.
The U.S. rig count peaked in 1981 at 4,530 and the previous low of 488 was set in 1999. That rig count was eclipsed March 11, 2016 and has continued to dip.