US rig count drops for second straight week

The number of rigs extracting crude oil and natural gas in the US fell by two to 619 last week – the lowest in eight weeks, Baker Hughes has reported.

PHOTO: Oil field with pump jacks in Bakersfield, US. Getty Images

The number of oil rigs fell by two units to 499 last week, while the gas rig count fell by one unit to 117. There were also three miscellaneous rigs in operation, one more than in the prior week.

The total oil and gas rig count in the Permian Basin in Texas - the biggest US oil field – fell by two units, from 311 to 309.

The total US oil and gas rig count was down by 24%, or 156 units, from a year earlier.

By Debarati Bhattacharjee

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