Following a 29-rig gain a week earlier, the active U.S. oil rig count added another 15 last week and now up 68 from this point a year ago.
Friday's U.S. oil rig count by oilfield services company Baker Hughes showed a figure of 566, which has climbed by 44 since losing seven rigs in the count issued Jan. 13, which snapped an 11-week streak of gains. The count issued Jan. 20 was the largest one-week oil rig gain in nearly 4 years.
Friday's oil rig count was 566, up 13.7 percent year-over-year and up 79.1 percent since bottoming out at 316 in May 2014. The current figure is still well short of when it was consistently around 1,500 in 2014, but has grown steadily for more than 2 years.
After snapping an 11-week streak of gains, the active U.S. oil rig count showed a major rebound last week as it resumed its climb with its biggest one-week increase in nearly four years.
The active U.S. gas rig count added three rigs last week to a mark of 145, marking its 12th-straight week of gains. Its count up 24 year-over-year, or 19.8 percent. Miscellaneous rigs were unchanged at one.
The combined U.S. active rig count of 712 is up 93 year-over-year (+15.0 percent) and up 76.2 percent since bottoming out at 404 in May 2016.
Texas was responsible for half of the total rig gain, adding nine last week after adding 17 the week before. Oklahoma added five, New Mexico added four, Louisiania added two, while Alaska and North Dakota each added one. Colorado lost three, while Arkansas and West Virginia each lost one.
Canada added three total rigs last week, gaining seven oil rigs and losing seven four gas rigs. Its combined count of 345 is up 114 year-over-year, with its 193 oil rigs up by 74 and its 149 gas rigs up by 40.
Friday's North American combined rig count of 1,057 is up 207 year-over-year, or 24.4 percent.
Oil Price Update
Oil prices continued to hold steady last week, with U.S. Brent crude oil closing Jan. 23 at $55.23 and ending the week at nearly the same mark at $55.52. Oil was at $55.26 as of 8:45 a.m. CT Monday morning.
Oil has closed at between $52.50 and $56.50 since Dec. 1, showing signs of steadiness over the last eight weeks.
