US rig count drops after rising for four weeks in a row

The number of rigs extracting crude oil and natural gas in the US fell by three to 623 last week, after rising for four consecutive weeks, Baker Hughes has reported.

PHOTO: Oil fracking drill rig in the Permian Basin in West Texas, US. Getty Images

The number of oil rigs fell by two units to 501 last week. The oil rig count has come down from 623 since the beginning of the year.

The US natural gas rig count remained unchanged at 119 last week. There were also three miscellaneous rigs in operation, which was one less than in the prior week.

The total oil and gas rig count in the Permian Basin in Texas - the biggest US oil field – dropped by three units, from 313 to 310.

The total US oil and gas rig count was down by 153 units from a year earlier.

By Debarati Bhattacharjee

Please get in touch with comments or additional info to news@engine.online