The U.S. added another 15 rigs to its active count last week, while Canada's continued its fast decline.
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 824 — up 83.1 percent year-over-year and more than double since bottoming out at 404 in May 2016. It's the highest combined count since Sept. 25, 2015, and the 11th straight week the U.S. count has increased.
The U.S. added 10 oil rigs last week, pushing its current mark to 662. It was the 11th straight week the oil rig count has grown, and the 21st week in the past 22. The 662 figure is up 82.9 percent year-over-year, up 109.5 percent since bottoming out at 316 in May 2016, and is the highest count since Sept. 4, 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, continuing a recent up-and-down stretch. The active gas rig count of 160 is up 81.8 percent year-over-year and nearly 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 seven to a current total of 411 — up 101.5 percent year-over-year. Louisiana added six, Alaska added three and New Mexico added two. Colorado lost two, while North Dakota and Utah lost one apiece.
Canada's rig count continued to fall last week, losing another 30 rigs after a 91-rig drop the week before — its largest one-week decline since December 26, 2014. Canada lost 15 oil rigs last week, 14 gas rigs and 1 miscellaneous rig. Canada's current count of 155 is still up 216.3 percent year-over-year, with its 100 oil rigs up by 62 and its 55 gas rigs up by 44.
Friday's combined North American rig count of 979 is down 15 from a week earlier. It is up 480 year-over-year, or 96.2 percent.
Oil Price Update
Note: Starting last week I switched from Brent crude oil prices to WTI Crude oil.
After hovering in the high $40-range for nearly three weeks. U.S. WTI Crude oil prices rallied throughout last week back above the $50 mark. Oil closed March 27 at $47.73 — its lowest mark since Nov. 14, 2016, but gained steadily to close Friday at $50.60. Oil was at $50.39 as of 9:20 a.m. CT Monday morning.
