Baker Hughes reports that US drillers have cut their oil and gas rigs a second time in a week.
Baker Hughes, a leading energy services company, said that the U.S. firms have cut back on oil and gas rigs for the second consecutive week.
The number of oil and gas drilling rigs, a good indicator of future production, dropped by two in the week ending August 29 to 536, the lowest level since August 2021.
Baker Hughes reported that the total number of rigs is down 47 or 8.1% from the same time last year.
Baker Hughes reported that oil rigs increased by one this week to 412, while gas-rigs decreased by three to 119.
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 reducing debt than on increasing production.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted that crude production would increase from a record 13,2 million barrels of oil per day in the year 2024 to approximately 13.4 million barrels a day in 2025.
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 by 2025. This is up from 103.2 billion cubic foot per day (bcfd) in 2024, and a record-breaking 103.6 bcfd for 2023. (Reporting from Sarah Qureshi, Bengaluru; Scott DiSavino, New York; editing by Nia Williams).
(source: Reuters)
