Oil rig count grows after Hurricane Hermine
Friday September 9, 2016
The overall count of rigs actively seeking oil or natural gas increased by 11 this week with eight of them offshore and just three on land. Those three came in the gas-rich Marcellus and Utica shale in the Northeast. Texas and Oklahoma offset each other with Texas gaining four rigs and Oklahoma losing the same amount, according to the weekly count from the Baker Hughes oilfield services firm.
Nearly half of the nation's active rigs are in Texas - 245 out of 508 rigs. The Permian Basin alone accounts for 200 active rigs.
The total count of more than 500 rigs is up from an all-time low of 404 in May, according to Baker Hughes. Of the total, 414 of them are primarily drilling for oil. But the oil rig count is down 74 percent from its peak of 1,609 in October 2014, before oil prices began plummeting.
Oil prices have fluctuated throughout this week, soaring on Thursday but falling Friday. The benchmark for U.S. crude topped $46 a barrel early Friday afternoon, down about $1.50 for the day.