US rig count declines further on Texas slump: Baker Hughes

Quantum Commodity Intelligence – North American drilling levels continued to decline heading into August with the number of working rigs posting a 13th loss out of the last 14 weeks, oilfield services firm Baker Hughes reported.

The total rig count fell by five units to 659 the week ending 4 August, which is 105 rigs below the same stage last year, or down 14% and the lowest since March 2022.

Oil rigs eased by four to 525, some 73 fewer than at the same stage in 2022, while natural gas was steady at 128, but 33 fewer on the year.

Texas led the decline, dropping eight rigs to 314 and is now 59 lower than a year ago, while the Permian Basin, spanning West Texas and New Mexico, fell by five units to 329 and 18 lower from year-ago levels.

Lea County in New Mexico was again the most active county in the Permian, adding five units and up to 64 rigs.

Last week, fracking pioneer Harold Hamm and chief of Continental Resources the Permian may not reach its peak until 2035 and will see another 25% boost in production.

NYMEX WTI trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange settled on Friday at $82.82/b for the Sep23 contract, up 2.8% on the week.

Front-month Oct23 ICE Brent futures closed at $86.24/b, up 3.2% over the same timeframe.

US natural gas was firmer over the week as the Sep23 Henry Hub contract on NYMEX closed at $2.638/mmBtu on Friday for a small weekly gain.