US oil rig count down for eighth-straight week
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The number of US oil rigs declined for the eighth consecutive week as the collapse in oil prices continues to pinch energy companies’ bottom lines.
US drillers took 28 oil rigs offline over the past week, bringing the tally to 439, according to data from Baker Hughes. The count has fallen by 617 over the past 12 months.
The US energy sector, which experienced something of a renaissance over the past several years thanks to new technology that allowed producers to pump oil out of the ground in areas where it was not previously economically feasible, has been forced to rapidly cut back on production due to a more than 70 per cent drop in the price oil.
The latest data show that a re-balancing is well underway in the US. However, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has thus far been unwilling to cut back on its production — exacerbating the global glut.
Oil prices added to their rally on the back of the rig count data, with West Texas Intermediate recently surging more than 12 per cent.
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