Baker Hughes: US energy companies leave rig count unchanged for the latest week
Baker Hughes, a closely watched energy services company, said that the U.S. firms had not changed their rig counts in the last week.
The number of oil and gas drilling rigs, a good indicator of future production, was 588 during the week ending August 28.
Baker Hughes reported that the total number of rigs was up 52 or 9.7% from this time last year.
The report said that oil rigs dropped by five this week to?447, while gas-rigs increased by five to 130 and other'miscellaneous' rigs remained at nine.
The Permian Basin, which is the nation's largest oil-producing shale region, in West Texas and Eastern New Mexico, saw the same rig count of 267.
Texas, which has the most rigs in the country, saw its rig count rise by one, to 282, marking the highest since February 2025.
As a result of lower U.S. oil prices, the number of oil and gas drilling rigs will decline by 7% between?2025 and 2024 and 20% between 2023 and 2023. Oil prices have prompted energy companies to focus on increasing shareholder returns and paying off debt, rather than increasing output.
The spot price of U.S. West Texas Intermediate oil is expected to increase?in 2026 because of?supply disruptions caused by the Iran War in?the Middle East after falling in 2023,2024,and 2025. Reporting by Noel John, Bengaluru. Editing by Kirovan Donovan
(source: Reuters)
