Permian rig count drops amid rising US crude production

The total number of active drilling rigs in the United States fell by 10 this week, according to new data from Baker Hughes published on August 24.

The total rig count fell to 632 this week. So far this year, Baker Hughes has estimated a loss of 133 active drilling rigs, OilPrice.com reports.  

The number of oil rigs fell by 8 this week to 512, down by 93 from a year ago. The number of gas rigs fell by 2 to 115, a loss of 43 active gas rigs from a year ago. Miscellaneous rigs remained the same. 

The rig count in the Permian Basin fell by 7 to 320, while rigs in the Eagle Ford dropped by 1, to 52 rigs. 

Primary Vision’s Frac Spread Count, an estimate of the number of crews completing unfinished wells (which is cheaper than drilling new wells), fell this week. The frac spread count fell to 256 in the week ending August 18, down from 262 in the week prior. The frac spread count is 2 less than where it started the year.

Crude oil production levels in the United States were at 12.8 million barrels per day in the week ending August 18, representing the third consecutive weekly increase in production, according to the latest weekly EIA estimates.

At 1:37 p.m. ET on Friday, the WTI benchmark was trading down $0.54 (-0.68 per cent) on the day at $78.51. The Brent benchmark was trading down $0.25 (-0.30 per cent) at $83.11 per barrel on the day—down about roughly $2.40 per barrel from a week ago.