Baker Hughes reports that US drillers have added oil and gas rigs to their fleet for the first time in 7 weeks.
Baker Hughes, a leading energy services company, said that the U.S. added oil and gas rigs this week for the first time since seven weeks.
The number of oil and gas rigs, a good indicator of future production, increased by one in the week ending September 5.
Baker Hughes reported that despite this week's increase in rig count, the total number was still 45 rigs or 7.7% below what it was at this time last year.
Baker Hughes reported that oil rigs increased by two this week to 414, while gas-rigs decreased by one to just 118.
Oil and gas rig counts declined by around 5% in 2020 and 20% in 2023, as lower U.S. gas and oil prices in the last couple of years led energy firms to concentrate more on increasing shareholder returns and paying off debt than increasing production. 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 per daily (bpd).
The EIA predicted a 65% rise in the price of spot gas
The EIA predicted that gas production would increase to 106.4 billion cubic feet per day in 2025. This is up from 103.2 billion cubic foot per day in 2024, and a record-breaking 103.6 bcfd for 2023. (Reporting by Sarah Qureshi in Bengaluru; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
(source: Reuters)
