U.S. Adds Another 15 Rigs; Oil Price Jumps After Syria Airstrike

The U.S. combined rig count continued its longstanding increase last week while Canada's fall continued, while oil prices jumped following Thursday night's U.S. missile strike upon a Syrian government airbase.

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Last week the U.S. added 15 rigs exploring for oil and gas for a second-straight week, adding to its long-standing gain while Canada's decline worsened.

Friday's combined oil and gas rig count provided by oilfield services provider Baker Hughes showed that the current U.S. mark is now at 839 — up 89.4 percent year-over-year and up 107.7 percent since bottoming out at 404 in May 2016. The count is now at its highest since Sept. 18, 2015. Last week was the 12th straight week the total U.S. count has increased.

The U.S. added 10 oil rigs last week, pushing its current mark to 672. It was the 12th straight week the oil rig count has grown, and the 22nd week in the past 23. The 672 figure is up 89.8 percent year-over-year, up 109.5 percent since bottoming out at 316 in May 2016 and is at its highest count since Aug. 28, 2015. The current oil rig total is still far below the the 1,600 mark it checked in at on Oct. 10, 2014, but has grown steadily for more than 10 months.

The U.S. added five gas rigs last week, its second-straight increase and fourth in the past five weeks. The active gas rig count of 165 is up 85.4 percent year-over-year and more than double since bottoming out at 81 in August 2016.

The U.S.'s two miscellaneous rigs were unchanged from last week.

Texas once again led the overall U.S. rig count gain last week, adding another seven to a current total of 418 — up 112.2 percent year-over-year. Oklahoma added four and Wyoming added two while Louisiana New Mexico and West Virginia each added one. Alaska lost one rig.

Canada's rig count continued to fall last week, as it lost another 23 rigs. It was Canada's sixth-straight week of decline, and it has decreased by 209 rigs — or 61.3 percent — in that time.

Friday's Canada rig count of 132 is still up 222 percent year-over-year, with its 42 oil rigs up by 34 and its 90 gas rigs up by 57.

Friday's combined North American rig count of 971 is down eight from a week earlier. It is up 487 year-over-year, or 100.6 percent.

Oil Price Update

Already having rallied back above $50 the week before, the price of WTI Crude Oil jumped $1.15 over a span of two business days after Thursday night's U.S. missile strike upon a Syrian government airbase. The strike was a response to a Syrian chemical weapons attack that reportedly killed dozens of civilians earlier last week. 

Oil closed Thursday at $51.70 and closed Friday at $52.24. It continued its rise Monday to $52.83 as of 9:50 a.m. CT.

Oil opened last Monday at $50.69.

Monday morning's mark is crude oil's highest price in more than a month since it opened at $53.30 on March 8. Oil had closed below $51 each day from March 8 to April 3.

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