Commodities
US Oil Drillers Take a Break Amid $100 Crude Prices
US oil drillers appear to be taking a breather as crude prices hover near $100. According to Baker Hughes, the total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the US rose this week to 587, up 45 from the same time last year.
The number of active oil rigs fell by 2, reaching 450 during the latest reporting period, which is still 35 above this time last year. The number of gas rigs rose by 1 and now stands at 127, a 5-unit increase compared to this time last year.
US crude oil production averaged 13.798 million bpd during the week ending July 17, down from 13.861 million bpd the previous week but up 525,000 bpd from a year ago. The Permian Basin saw its rig count fall by 1 to 258, which is now 2 rigs under last year's levels.