US drill rig count sinks as Permian declines further: Baker Hughes

Quantum Commodity Intelligence - North American drilling activity was lower the week ending 10 March, registering a fourth consecutive weekly drop for the first time since July 2020, oilfield services firm Baker Hughes reported.

The total weekly rig count eased by three units to 746, although it was still up around 12.5% up from the same time last year.

The number of rigs dedicated to crude dipped by two to 590, the lowest count since last June. Rigs drilling for natural gas were down by one to 153, up 18 on the year. Three rigs were classified as miscellaneous.

Texas was flat at 366 units but was still up 46 on the year, while the Permian Basin, spread across West Texas and New Mexico, was down six rigs at 343 for an increase of 27 on the year. However, Permian has now dropped 14 rigs since early February.

NYMEX WTI trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange settled on Friday (10 March) at $76.68/b for the Apr23 contract, down 3.75% on the week.

Front-month May23 ICE Brent futures closed Friday at $82.78/b, down 3.55% over the same timeframe.

Natural gas slumped back despite the late winter US storms, with the Apr23 Henry Hub contract on NYMEX closing down 21% on the week at $2.43/mmBtu.