US oil rig count breaks loss streak

The number of rigs extracting crude oil and natural gas in the US rose by two to 622 last week, after falling for two consecutive weeks, 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

Crude oil rigs rose by two units to 500, while the US natural gas rig count remained unchanged at 120 last week. There were also two miscellaneous rigs in operation, the same as the prior week.

The total oil and gas rig count in the Permian Basin in Texas - the biggest US oil field – also rose by two units, from 307 to 309.

The total US oil and gas rig count was down by 157 rigs, or 20% from a year earlier.

By Debarati Bhattacharjee

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