The U.S. active oil and gas rig count failed to rise last week for the third straight week, following nearly six straight months of consistent gains.
Friday's combined U.S. oil and gas rig count provided by oilfield services provider Baker Hughes showed that the current mark dipped by two to 950 — which is up 105.6 percent year-over-year and up 135.1 percent since bottoming out at 404 on May 20 and May 27, 2016. It was the second time in five weeks that the count decreased after having increased for 23 consecutive weeks.
Oil rigs comprised 80.4 percent of Friday's total.
The U.S. lost one oil rigs last week, moving its current mark to 764 as its second decrease in four weeks. Its count is up 105.9 percent year-over-year and up 141.8 percent since bottoming out at 316 on May 27, 2016. Prior to July, the U.S. oil rig count had grown stready for more than 13 straight months.
The U.S. also lost one gas rig last week as its third decrease in five weeks, moving its current mark to 186. The active gas rig count is up 111.4 percent year-over-year and up 129.6 percent since bottoming out at 81 on Aug. 5 and Aug. 26, 2016.
The U.S. miscellaneous rig count remained at zero.
Louisiana added four rigs last week and California added two, while North Dakota and Utah each added one. Oklahoma and Texas each lost three, New Mexico lost a pair, while Alaska lost one.
Canada/North America
Canada's rig count rose by 15 last week, moving its current total to 206. It added 12 oil rigs and three gas rigs. Its combined count is up 102.0 percent year-over-year, with its 118 oil rigs up by 70 and its 88 gas rigs up by 35.
Friday's North American combined rig count of 1,156 is up by 13 from a week earlier. It is up by 592 year-over-year, or 105.0 percent.
Oil Price Update
The price of WTI Crude oil rose steadily from July 10 through mid-day last Thursday to a high of $47.74 — its highest mark since June 7 — but took a sharp dive through Friday and closed the week at $45.77. Oil opened Monday at $45.62 and climbed to $46.23 as of 8:31 a.m. CT.
