Biggest weekly US oil rig drop in 20 months

The number of rigs extracting crude oil in the US fell by 11 to 575 last week - the largest weekly drop since September 2021, Baker Hughes has reported.

PHOTO: Oil field with pump jacks in the US. Getty Images

The gas rig count was steady on the week, and the combined oil and gas count stood at 720, which is the lowest since June 2022.

The oil and gas rig count in the Permian Basin in Texas - the biggest American oil field – dropped by four units to 349.

The total US rig count is down by eight units, or 1%, from a year earlier.

Crude oil and natural gas producers have been drilling less as prices for these commodities have fallen below pre-Ukraine war levels. Front-month ICE Brent crude settled at $76.27/bbl on Friday, and the future has been considerably lower lately than its peak average of more than $100/bbl last March.

By Debarati Bhattacharjee

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