US Oil Rig Count Hits New High as Crude Prices Continue to Rise
The number of active oil rigs in the US has increased to 455, up 43 from this time last year. According to Baker Hughes' latest data, the total rig count rose by 54 to 593, with the Permian Basin seeing a significant increase of 10 rigs above year-ago levels.
The rise in oil rigs comes as US crude oil production rebounded slightly during the week ending August 7. The weekly production averaged 13.805 million barrels per day (bpd), up from 13.804 million bpd last week and a significant increase of 521,000 bpd from a year ago.
The number of active gas rigs also rose by 4 to 128, which is 6 more than this time last year. Meanwhile, oil prices were up on Friday with Brent trading at $87.94 per barrel, an increase of over $4 per barrel from the same time last week.