US oil and gas rig count fell for fifth consecutive week

The number of rigs extracting crude oil and natural gas in the US fell by 15 to 696 last week - the largest weekly drop since September 2021, Baker Hughes has 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

The total US oil rig count fell by 15 units to 555 last week - the lowest oil rig count since April last year. The natural gas rig count remained unchanged.

The oil and gas rig count fell for a fifth straight week. The oil rig count fell for the sixth consecutive month in May. Gas rigs also came down sharply in May.

Crude oil and natural gas producers have been reducing their activity levels as prices by large have gradually traded lower since last November. US drilling activity is likely to be slower through the rest of this year and next year, according to Reuters analyst John Kemp.

The oil and gas rig count in the Permian Basin in Texas - the biggest American oil field – dropped by two units to 348.

The total US rig count is down by 31 units, or 4%, from a year earlier.

By Debarati Bhattacharjee

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