U.S. rig count falls for ninth week, led by Permian cutbacks

HOUSTON – The U.S. rig count has fallen for the ninth week in a row with nearly half of this week’s drop being accounted for by rigs seeking oil in the Permian basin.

Oil prices have tumbled in recent months in responses to an oversupplied market, prompting a wave of cost cutting across the upstream industry. Schlumberger, Halliburton, Baker Hughes and Weatherford are among the companies to have announced job cuts.

WTI—the U.S. benchmark crude—is currently trading at around $50/bbl, down more than half from its $107 price tag in June.  

According to new data from Baker Hughes, the total U.S. rig count now stands at 1,456, which represents a 464 rig drop over the course of the past nine weeks.

Of the rigs currently active, 1,140 are targeting oil, a drop of 83 from the last count on Jan. 30.

The Permian basin took the hardest hit, accounting for nearly half of this week’s drop in oil directed drilling. According to Baker Hughes, there are now 413 rigs seeking oil in the Permian, a drop of 37 from the 450 reported on Jan. 30.

The Williston basin—home of the Bakken—saw an 11 rig drop-off in the number of rigs seeking oil this week, while the Eagle Ford dropped 10 to 151. Oklahoma’s Cana Woodford, however, bucked the downward trend with an increase of three oil directed rigs.

Baker Hughes also indicated a slight dip in the number of rigs seeking gas this week. The service company reported 314 gas directed rigs, down five from the previous week. Miscellaneous rigs rose by one to two, Baker Hughes said.