US oil and gas rig count back on the rise after three-week decline

The number of rigs extracting crude oil and natural gas in the US rose by five to 753 last week, Baker Hughes reported.

PHOTO: Oilfield worker welds an end cap to a pipe as sparks fly next to a derrick at an oil and gas drilling pad site. Getty Images

Drilling activity rose after declining for three straight weeks, as the biggest oilfield in the US - the Permian Basin in Texas - added three oil rigs.

The US oil rig count rose by three units to 591 last week, while the gas rig count was up by two units to 159.

Compared to a year earlier, the total US oil and gas rig count was up by 58 rigs, or 8%.

By Debarati Bhattacharjee

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