US energy firms this week cut the number of oil and natural gas rigs operating for an eighth week in a row for the first time since July 2020, energy services firm Baker Hughes Co said in its closely followed report on Friday.
The oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, fell by 5 to 682 in the week to June 23, the lowest since April 2022.
Baker Hughes said that puts the total rig count down 71 rigs, or 9 percent, over this time last year.
US oil rigs fell 6 to 546 this week, their lowest since April 2022, while gas rigs held steady at 130.
The rig count fell by one to 50 in the Haynesville shale in Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas, the lowest since January 2022, and by one to 35 in Williston in North Dakota and Montana, the lowest since April 2022, according to Baker Hughes.
Data provider Enverus, which publishes its own rig count data, said drillers cut eight rigs in the week to June 21, reducing the overall count to 741. That put the total count down about 24 rigs in the last month and down 12 percent year-over-year. – Reuters
