U.S. Oil, Gas Rig Count Creeps Up With Strong Prices

The total number of active oil and gas drilling rigs in the United States increased to 595 this week, up by 53 compared to the same period last year, according to the latest data published by Baker Hughes. Active oil rigs increased by 2 to reach 452, while gas rigs also rose by 2 to 134. Miscellaneous rigs held steady at 9, and the Permian Basin added one rig to reach a count of 269. Simultaneously, U.S. crude oil production averaged 13.944 million barrels per day for the week ending September 11, reflecting a slight week-over-week decline but remaining 462,000 bpd higher than year-ago levels. Well completion activity also showed signs of rebound, with Primary Vision's Frac Spread Count breaking a four-week decline by adding 6 crews to reach 184. Despite the uptick in upstream drilling activity, crude oil prices traded slightly lower on Friday ahead of the data release. Brent crude traded down 1.16% at $103.60 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate slipped 1.22% to $100.67 per barrel.