Total U.S. rig count now at 557 according to Baker Hughes

The total number of rigs drilling in the United States continued to climb last week according to information released by Baker Hughes Industries (ticker: BHI). There were 557 active rigs in the country for the week ended October 21, up four from the previous week.

North American and international rig count for the week ended October 21

Source: Baker Hughes

Rigs targeting natural gas made up all the gains last week with six additional rigs across the country. This was partially offset by two fewer rigs drilling for crude oil. Both oil and gas rigs remain well below their levels at this time last year at 441 and 114, respectively. For the same week in 2015, there were 578 rigs drilling for oil and 197 targeting natural gas.

On the oil side, the Williston saw the largest gains last week, adding five rigs to its count. The Haynesville added three rigs, while the Cana Woodford and the Marcellus added two each. The DJ reported two fewer rigs for the week ended October 21, while the Mississippian was down one.

U.S. rig count by basin for the week ended October 21

Source: Baker Hughes

U.S. crude benchmark WTI is down over 2% today at $48.69 and international crude benchmark Brent is down nearly 1.6% at $49.68. The price of crude oil has been struggling to maintain gains above $50 per barrel as the rig count continues to increase in the U.S., and markets worry that OPEC will be unable to finalize a production agreement at its next meeting.


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