U.S. oil rig count little changed amid mixed report of inventories, record production
The total number of active drilling rigs in the United States increased by just one rig, according to the Baker Hughes rig count report for the week ending June 1. Meanwhile, the latest data showed the U.S. crude oil production in March hit a record level and its crude oil inventories decreased in the week ending May 25.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported Thursday that U.S. crude production rose 2.1 percent from the February reading to 10.474 million barrels a day in March. It was up 14.6 percent from March 2017.
Meanwhile, according to the Weekly Petroleum Status Report by EIA on Thursday, U.S. commercial crude oil inventories, excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, decreased by 3.6 million barrels during the week ending May 25.
However, the American Petroleum Institute (API) on Wednesday reported surprise buildup of 1.0 million barrels of U.S. crude oil inventories in the same week.
New York-traded WTI crude futures dropped below $66 a barrel on Friday to log their lowest finish since April 10 at $65.81 a barrel, down $1.23, or 1.8% on the day.
The U.S. benchmark marked a weekly loss of roughly 3%, which was the second straight weekly decline.
Elsewhere, London-traded Brent crude futures, the benchmark for oil prices outside the U.S., slumped 77 cents, or 1%, on Friday to close at $76.79 a barrel. For the week, it still ended up 0.4%.
Prices in recent sessions had declined on concerns that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-OPEC members led by Russia would decide to lift output by up to 1 million barrels a day as early as this month.
OPEC is scheduled to hold its next meeting in Vienna on June 22.
RIG COUNT
Among major oil- and gas-producing states:
Gainers
Oklahoma made a 2-unit gain to reach 142. Texas, Colorado, and Wyoming each gained 1 unit to reach respective counts of 535, 32, and 27.
Unchanged
Seven states were unchanged this week, namely Pennsylvania, 39; Ohio, 23; West Virginia, 18; California, 15; Alaska, 9; Utah, 8; and Arkansas, 1.
Losers
New Mexico and North Dakota were each down 1 rig to respective counts of 90 and 55. Louisiana, down 2 units this week, reached 58.
Summary of Major Plays – Ranked By Rig Count
– Permian Basin 477 rigs compared to last week’s 478 rigs
– Eagle Ford 80 rigs compared to last week’s 78 rigs
– Cana Woodford 76 rigs compared to last week’s 73 rigs
– Williston 56 rigs compared to last week’s 57 rigs
– Marcellus 56 rigs compared to last week’s 56 rigs
– Haynesville 54 rigs compared to last week’s 54 rigs
– DJ-Niobrara 26 rigs compared to last week’s 25 rigs
– Utica 24 rigs compared to last week’s 24 rigs
– Granite Wash 14 rigs compared to last week’s 14 rigs
– Arkoma Woodford 9 rigs compared to last week’s 9 rigs
For more details on the latest national and state news regarding last Friday’s Baker Hughes rig count data, check out the interactive rig count dashboard on the Oklahoma Index tab of our website.
Compiled and Published by GIB KNIGHT
Gib Knight is a private oil and gas investor and consultant, providing clients advanced analytics and building innovative visual business intelligence solutions to visualize the results, across a broad spectrum of regulatory filings and production data in Oklahoma and Texas. He is the founder of OklahomaMinerals.com, an online resource designed for mineral owners in Oklahoma.
