US oil drilling rebounds, gas rigs register sharp loss - Baker Hughes  

Quantum Commodity Intelligence - North American oil drilling activity recovered the week ending 10 February, while the number of rigs drilling for gas went in the opposite direction, oilfield services firm Baker Hughes reported.

The number of rigs dedicated to crude increased by 10 to 609, the highest weekly increases since June of last year, having registered combined losses of 24 units over the previous three weeks.

However, rigs drilling for natural gas fell by eight to 150, the largest weekly drop in more than five years.

The drop came as US natural gas continued the price slump following a mild winter and ample supplies, with the Mar23 Henry Hub contract on NYMEX closing Friday at around $2.50/mmBtu, down from $6/mmBtu in mid-December.

Domestic gas prices remained under pressure despite the restart of LNG exports from Freeport LNG as the first vessel arrived at the Texas terminal since last June.  

Last week the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reduced its 2023 average price forecast to $3.40/mmBtu, a steep 30% decline compared to its projections a month ago, adding prices should remain below the $4 mark until December.

The overall oil and gas rig count increased by two to 761, compared to 635 at the same time last year.

Texas dropped seven rigs to 370 units but is still up 70 on the year, while the Permian Basin, spread across West Texas and New Mexico, was down by two rigs at 352 for an increase of 51 on the year.

Meanwhile, the latest data from the EIA put US crude oil output at 12.3 million bpd, the first increase in five weeks last week and registering the highest total since April 2020.

NYMEX WTI trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange settled on Friday (10 February) at $79.22/b for the Mar23 contract, a gain of 7.15% on the week.

Front-month Apr23 ICE Brent futures closed Friday at $86.39/b, up 8% over the same timeframe.