US oil and gas rig count recorded biggest monthly drop in 32 months

The number of rigs extracting crude oil and natural gas in the US fell by seven 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

February recorded the lowest number of monthly oil and natural gas rigs in operation since June 2020, and the lowest gas rig count since April 2022. It fell for the third straight month since July 2020.

The number of oil drilling rigs in operation in the US plunged by seven units to 600 last week. While the gas rig count remained unchanged.

The rig count in the Permian Basin in Texas - the biggest US oilfield – rose by one unit to 353.

Notwithstanding the weekly decline, there were still 78 more oil rigs and 24 more gas rigs in operation than a year earlier, when activity was still hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The total US oil and gas rig count was up by 103 rigs, or 15.8%, from a year earlier.

By Debarati Bhattacharjee

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