US rig count drops in the first week of 2024

The number of rigs extracting crude oil and natural gas in the US fell by one to 621 last week, Baker Hughes has reported

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

The number of oil rigs rose by one unit to 501 last week. But the US natural gas rig count fell by two units to 118 last week. There were also two miscellaneous rigs in operation, the same as in the prior week.

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

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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