U.S. Combined Rig Count Tops 900 For 1st Time In 2+ Years

Friday's combined U.S. rig count cracked the 900 mark for the first time since May 1, 2015. Meanwhile, the price of WTI crude oil climbed back above $50 and Canada's rig count snapped an 11-week streak of declines.

Last week the U.S. added 16 rigs exploring for oil and gas, continuing its long-standing gain, while the price of oil climbed back above $50.

Friday's combined U.S. oil and gas rig count provided by oilfield services provider Baker Hughes showed that the current mark is now at 901 — up 123.0 percent year-over-year and up the same amount since bottoming out at 404 on May 20 and May 27, 2016. It's the first time the count has cracked the 900 mark since May 1, 2015 (905) — a span of 55 weeks.

Last week was the 18th straight week the combined U.S. rig count increased. Oil rigs comprised 79.9 percent of the total.

The U.S. added eight oil rigs last week, pushing its current mark to 720. It's that count's highest mark since April 17, 2015. It was the 18th straight week the oil rig count has grown, and the 28th week in the past 29. The 720 figure is up 126.4 percent year-over-year and up 127.0 percent since bottoming out at 316 on May 27, 2016.

The current oil rig total is still less than half the 1,600 mark it checked in at on Oct. 10, 2014, but has grown steadily for 12 months.

The U.S. also added eight gas rigs last week, pushing its current mark to 180 and its highest total since Dec. 11, 2015. The active gas rig count is up 111.8 percent year-over-year and 122.2 percent since bottoming out at 81 on Aug. 5 and Aug. 26, 2016.

The U.S. also has one rig labeled miscellaneous — the same as the week before.

Texas once again led last week's overall U.S. rig count gain, adding another eight to a current total of 459 — up 165.3 percent year-over-year. Oklahoma added four, while Louisiana, Pennsylvania and Wyoming each added two and New Mexico and Ohio added one apiece. Colorado lost a pair and Alaska lost one.

Canada/North America

Canada's rig count had its rig count increase last week, snapping 11 straight weeks of seasonal decline. Canada added five rigs last week, raising its overall total to 85. The country's count had decreased by 76.5 percent during those 11 weeks.

Canada added seven oil rigs last week and lost two gas rigs. Its combined count of 85 rigs is up 93.2 percent year-over-year, with its 36 oil rigs up by 20 and its 49 gas rigs up by 22.

Friday's North American combined rig count of 986 is up by 21 from a week earlier. It is up 538 year-over-year — or 120.1 percent.

Oil Price Update

WTW Crude oil prices improved last week for a second-straight week. Oil opened May 15 at $48.19 and closed Friday at $50.67. Oil opened Monday at $50.93 and was at $51.09 as of 9:05 a.m. CT.

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