Stay updated on oil and gas stories, prices and the weekly rig count. Sign up for our Weekly Newsletter HERE.
Oil Markets
Crude futures pulled back on Friday, giving up gains from the previous session as trade concerns weighed on the market and fueled concerns about demand.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, September West Texas Intermediate crude CLU18, fell 47 cents to settle at $68.49 a barrel, with the contract down 0.3% from last week’s finish at $68.69. It settled at $67.66 on Wednesday—the lowest for a front-month contract since June 21.
October Brent crude LCOV8 the global benchmark, fell 24 cents to $73.21 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange, with the contract marking a weekly loss of around 2.1%.
WTI and Brent futures have now posted declines in four out of the last five weeks.
RIG COUNT
Weekly Summary: Rigs engaged in the exploration and production in the U.S. lost -4 for the week ended August 3rd, 2018, down to 1044. Land rigs lost -5 to 1025. The offshore rig count was +1 at 17. Rigs drilling in the inland waters remained flat at 2 for the week.
Oil Rig Count: The US crude oil rig count was down -2 at 859 for the week. There are 94 more rigs targeting oil than last year. Rigs drilling for oil represent 82.2 percent of all drilling activity.
US oil rigs tested an all-time high of 1,609 in October 2014. In contrast, the rigs hit 316 in May 2016—the lowest level since the 1940s.
Natural Gas Rig Count: The natural gas rig count – which plunged to its lowest last August – lost -3, decreasing to 183. The number of rigs drilling for gas is lower by 6 rigs than last year’s level of 189.
AMONG MAJOR OIL- AND GAS-PRODUCING STATES:
GAINERS
Wyoming added two rigs, while Louisiana and Pennsylvania added one rig each.
UNCHANGED
Seven states were unchanged this week, namely Arkansas, California, Kansas, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah.
LOSERS
West Virginia lost three rigs this week, and Colorado and New Mexico each lost two rigs. Alaska and North Dakota lost one rig each.
Summary of Major Plays – Ranked By Rig Count
– Permian Basin 480 rigs compared to last week’s 480 rigs
– Eagle Ford 80 rigs compared to last week’s 80 rigs
– Cana Woodford 68 rigs compared to last week’s 71 rigs
– Williston 56 rigs compared to last week’s 57 rigs
– Marcellus 53 rigs compared to last week’s 55 rigs
– Haynesville 48 rigs compared to last week’s 48 rigs
– DJ-Niobrara 25 rigs compared to last week’s 25 rigs
– Utica 23 rigs compared to last week’s 23 rigs
– Granite Wash 16 rigs compared to last week’s 14 rigs
– Arkoma Woodford 7 rigs compared to last week’s 7 rigs
For more details on the latest national and state news regarding last Friday’s Baker Hughes rig count data, check out the interactive rig count dashboard on the Oklahoma Index tab of our website.
Compiled and Published by GIB KNIGHT
Gib Knight is a private oil and gas investor and consultant, providing clients advanced analytics and building innovative visual business intelligence solutions to visualize the results, across a broad spectrum of regulatory filings and production data in Oklahoma and Texas. He is the founder of OklahomaMinerals.com, an online resource designed for mineral owners in Oklahoma.
SOURCE: Baker Hughes
