U.S. Rig Count Rises For 19th Straight Week, Well Count Swells

The U.S. combined rig count continued its long-standing gain while number the drilled-but-uncompleted wells also had a healthy one-month gain. Meanwhile, the price of oil fell back below $50 Friday upon news of an extended OPEC production cut.

The U.S. active oil and gas rig count continued its long-standing gain this past week, while the number of newly drilled wells also had a healthy one-month increase in its latest count.

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 seven from a week earlier, up 124.8 percent year-over-year and up by the same amount since bottoming out at 404 on May 20 and May 27, 2016. It's the highest combined count since April 24, 2015 (932). It was the 19th straight week the combined count had increased. Oil rigs comprised 79.5 percent of the total.

The U.S. added two oil rigs this past week, pushing its current mark to 722. It's that count's highest mark since April 17, 2015 (734). It was the 19th straight week the oil rig count has grown, and the 29th week in the past 30. The 722 figure is up 128.5 percent year-over-year, the same increase amount 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 five gas rigs this past week, pushing its current mark to 185 and its highest total since that same mark on Dec. 11, 2015. The active gas rig count is up 112.6 percent year-over-year and up 128.4 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.

Colorado led last week's overall U.S. rig count gain, adding five to a current total of 34 — more than double the 16 that state had a year earlier. Alaska, New Mexico, North Dakota and Oklahoma each added one, while Texas lost one.

Along with the rig count gain, the U.S. Energy Information Administration's May Drilling Productivity Report shows that the number of drilled-but-uncompleted well in the U.S. rose from 5,534 in March to 5,721 in April — a 3.4 percent one-month increase.

Canada/North America

Canada's rig count rose for a second-straight week, following 11 straight previous weeks of seasonal decline. Canada added eight rigs this past week, raising its overall total to 93. Canada added four oil and gas rigs apiece. It's combined count is up 116.3 percent year-over-year, with its 40 oil rigs up by 26 and its 53 gas rigs up by 25.

Friday's North American combined rig count of 1,001 is by by 15 from a week earlier. It is up 554 year-over-year, or 123.9 percent.

Oil Price Update

Oil prices suffered this week upon OPEC's announcement that the group will extend its production cut through March 2018. WTI Crude oil prices opened 5/22 at $50.93, rose as high as $52.00 on Thursday before falling as low as $48.18 a day later. Oil was at $49.81 as of 1:56 p.m. CT Friday afternoon.

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