Baker Hughes reports that US drillers have cut oil and natural gas rigs in the US for the 10th consecutive week.
Baker Hughes, a leading energy services company, said that the U.S. firms have cut back on the number of oil rigs and natural gas wells for a tenth consecutive week for the first since July 2020.
The number of oil and gas drilling rigs, a good indicator of future production, dropped by eight in the week ending July 3 to 539, the lowest level since October 2021.
Baker Hughes released its report a day early than usual due to Friday's Fourth of July holiday in the United States.
Baker Hughes reported that the total number of rigs is down 46 or 8% from this time last week.
This week, oil rigs dropped by seven, to 425, the lowest level since September 2021. Gas rigs also fell, by one, to 108.
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 U.S. Energy Information Administration, however, projected that crude production would increase from a record 13,2 million barrels per daily (bpd), in 2024, to around 13,4 million bpd by 2025.
The EIA predicted an 84% rise in the price of spot gas
The EIA predicted that gas production would increase to 105.9 bcfd by 2025. This is up from 103.2 billion cubic feet (bcfd), which was a record in 2024, and 103.6 bcfd for 2023. (Reporting and editing by Scott DiSavino, Sherin Elizabeth Varighese)
(source: Reuters)
