U.S. energy firms this week added oil and natural gas rigs for the first time in three weeks, as the oil rig count rose by the most since February, energy services firm Baker Hughes said in its closely followed report on Nov. 17.
The oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, rose two to 618 in the week to Nov. 17.
U.S. oil rigs rose by six to 500 this week, while gas rigs fell by four to 114, their lowest since early September.
Data provider Enverus, which publishes its own rig count data, said drillers cut 13 rigs in the week ended Nov. 15, cutting the total to 690. Nevertheless, the overall count was still up about 2% in the last month but down 21% year-over-year.
U.S. oil futures were down about 6% so far this year after gaining about 7% in 2022. U.S. gas futures, meanwhile, have plunged about 35% so far this year after rising about 20% last year.
Even as lower prices prompt some producers to cut back on new drilling, oil and gas output is still on track to hit record highs in 2023 and 2024 as firms complete work on their already drilled wells.
The total number of drilled but uncompleted (DUC) oil and gas wells dropped by 92 to 4,524 in October, the lowest since December 2013, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Drilling Productivity Report.
Gas production in North Dakota rose to a record 3.440 Bcf/d in September, while crude output in the nation's third-largest oil-producing state, was expected to be flat or slightly lower in October but above 1.2 MMbbl/d, the state regulator said this week.
Recommended Reading
Permian Powerhouse: Apache Doubles Down on Core Assets After Callon Acquisition
2024-05-16 - Apache CEO John Christmann detailed plans for the Permian Basin and Suriname during the SUPER DUG Conference & Expo.
Crescent Energy to Buy Eagle Ford’s SilverBow for $2.1 Billion
2024-05-16 - Crescent Energy’s acquisition of SilverBow Resources will create the second largest Eagle Ford Shale E&P with production of about 250,000 boe/d, the companies said.
Diamondback’s Van’t Hof Plays Coy on Potential Delaware Divestiture
2024-05-16 - Diamondback Energy’s President and CFO Kaes Van't Hof also addressed new Permian exploration and the lack of “fun” dealing with the FTC on its deal to buy Endeavor Energy Resources.
Minerals Market Growing But Needs More Scale, Consolidation
2024-05-15 - The market value of public minerals and royalties companies has doubled since 2019—but the sector needs to grow even larger to attract generalist investors into the fray, experts say.
ONEOK CEO: ‘Huge Competitive Advantage’ to Upping Permian NGL Capacity
2024-03-27 - ONEOK is getting deeper into refined products and adding new crude pipelines through an $18.8 billion acquisition of Magellan Midstream. But the Tulsa company aims to capitalize on NGL output growth with expansion projects in the Permian and Rockies.