US rig count eases to 16-month low: Baker Hughes

Quantum Commodity Intelligence – North American drilling levels registered yet another drop in the final week of July, posting a 12th loss out of the 13 weeks, oilfield services firm Baker Hughes reported.

The total rig count fell by five units to 664 the week ending July 28, which is 103 rigs below the same stage last year, or down 13% and the lowest since March 2022.

Oil rigs eased by one to 529, some 76 fewer than at the same stage in 2022, while natural gas fell by three units to 128, 29 fewer on the year.

Texas held steady at 322 and is now 43 lower than a year ago, while the Permian Basin, spanning West Texas and New Mexico, edged up one to 334 and 16 lower from year-ago levels.

Lea County in New Mexico was the most active county in the Permian with 59 rigs, while nearby Eddy County was second with 50 rigs, both down one for the week.

Last week the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed US crude-oil production fell by 100,000 bpd from the previous week to 12.2 million bpd, matching the lowest weekly reading since late December.

NYMEX WTI trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange settled on Friday at $80.58/b for the Sep23 contract, up 4.5% on the week.

Front-month Sep23 ICE Brent futures closed at $84.99/b, up 4.8% over the same timeframe.

US natural gas was firmer over the week as the Sep23 Henry Hub contract on NYMEX closed at $2.623/mmBtu on Friday for a small weekly decline.