Baker Hughes: US drillers have cut oil and gas rigs four times in the last five weeks.
Baker Hughes, a leading energy services company, said that the U.S. oil and gas companies have cut back on the number of rigs for the fourth consecutive week.
The number of oil and gas drilling rigs, a leading indicator of future production, dropped by one in the week ending August 22 to 538, the lowest level since mid-July.
Baker Hughes reported that the number of rigs has dropped by 47 this week.
8
Below this time last Year.
Baker Hughes reported that oil rigs dropped by one this week to 411, while gas-rigs remained at 122.
The number of rigs in the largest oil and gas producing state of the country,, fell by two, to 240. This is the lowest level since September 2021.
North Dakota is the third largest oil producing state in the United States, behind Texas and New Mexico. The rig count dropped by one, to 28. This was the lowest number since January 2022.
The number of rigs in the Williston Shale, North Dakota and Montana has fallen by one to 30. This is the lowest it's been since January 2022.
Oil and gas rig counts are expected to decline by 5% and 20% respectively in 2024, as the lower U.S. gas and oil prices in recent years have prompted energy companies to concentrate more on increasing shareholder returns and paying off debt than increasing production.
The independent exploration companies (E&Ps) tracked by U.S. Financial Services firm TD Cowen have said that they plan to reduce capital expenditures from 2024 levels by around 4% by 2025.
This compares to roughly flat spending year-over-year in 2024 and increases of 27%, 40%, and 4%, respectively, in 2023. Analysts predicted that U.S. crude spot prices would fall for the third consecutive year in 2025. However, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA), crude production would increase from a record 13,2 million barrels a day (bpd).
EIA predicted a 65% rise in spot gas
(source: Reuters)
