The U.S. active oil and gas rig count had a solid increase last week following three straight weeks of non-gains, while the price of oil climbed throughout the week to near $50.
Friday's combined U.S. oil and gas rig count provided by oilfield services provider Baker Hughes showed that the current mark rose by eight to 958 — which is up 106.9 percent year-over-year and up 137.1 percent since bottoming out at 404 on May 20 and May 27, 2016. At 958, it is the highest combined count since April 10, 2015 (988).
Oil rigs comprised 80.0 percent of Friday's total.
The U.S. added a pair of oil rigs last week, moving its current mark to 766. Its count is up 104.8 percent year-over-year and up 142.4 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. At 766, it is the highest oil rig count since April 2, 2015 (802).
The U.S. added six gas rigs last week, moving its current mark to 192. The active gas rig count is up 123.3 percent year-over-year and up 137.0 percent since bottoming out at 81 on Aug. 5 and Aug. 26, 2016.
The U.S. miscellaneous rig count remained at zero.
New Mexico added four rigs last week and Oklahoma added three, while Louisiana, Ohio, West Virginia and Wyoming each added one. Texas lost one.
Canada/North America
Canada's seasonal rig count continued last week, as it rose by 14 to a mark of 220. It added 11 oil rigs and three gas rigs. Its combined count is up 84.9 percent year-over-year, with its 129 oil rigs up by 69 and its 91 gas rigs up by 33.
Friday's North American combined rig count of 1,178 is up by 22 from a week earlier. It is up by 596 year-over-year, or 102.4 percent.
Oil Price Update
The price of WTI Crude grew throughout last week at a healthy clip upon news that Saudi Arabia is cutting back on exports during August. After falling throughout the week of July 17-21, oil opened July 24 at $45.62, spiked more than $2 at one point the next day and continued to gain the rest of the week to a mark of $49.71 at Friday's close. Oil opened Monday at $49.85 — its highest mark since May 31 — and hit $50.06 shortly after. It was at $49.25 as of 9:43 a.m.
