U.S. energy firms this week added oil and natural gas rigs for a second week in a row for the first time since July 2024, energy services firm Baker Hughes said in its closely followed report on Friday.
The total oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output,rose by four to 586in the week to February 7. Despite this week's rig increase, Baker Hughes said the total count was still down 37 rigs, or 6% below this time last year.
Baker Hughes said oil rigs rose by one to 480 this week, while gas rigs increased by two to 100.
Growth in oil output from the U.S. Permian Basin, the country's top oilfield, is expected to slow by at least 25% this year despite President Donald Trump's vow to maximize production, energy executives forecast on Thursday.
While the U.S. is already the world's top oil producer with output of about 13.2 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2024, total U.S. production growth has slowed in recent years, climbing only about 280,000 bpd last year.
The oil and gas rig count declined by about 5% in 2024 and 20% in 2023 as lower U.S. oil and gas prices over the past couple of years prompted energy firms to focus more on paying down debt and boosting shareholder returns while increasing drilling efficiencies to raise output.
Heavy weekend snow and ice to strike US Midwest and Northeast
The US Midwest and Northeast are bracing for a series of winter storms,...
The US Midwest and Northeast are bracing for a series of winter storms, with some areas, including parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island seeing over 5 inches of snow. A wintry mix of sleet and freezing rain is expected in other regions, making roads slippery and travel hazardous.
Missing plane found in Alaska with no survivors. Yesterday, rescuers ...
Missing plane found in Alaska with no survivors. Yesterday,rescuerslocatedthe wreckage ofa Cessna aircraft operated by Bering Air that vanished Thursday while carrying 10 people across Alaska’s Norton Sound amid bad weather. Authorities said all everyone aboard had died. This was the third fatal airplane incident in the US in less than two weeks, following the collision of an airplane with a helicopter in Washington DC that left 67 people dead, and a crash of a medical plane in Philadelphia that killed seven people.
Nippon Steel will invest in—but not take over—US Steel, President Trump and Japan’s prime minister said yesterday. President Biden blocked a takeover while he was still in office.
A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from putting 2,200 USAID staffers on leave.
New York City’s live chicken markets were ordered to close following the detection of avian flu.
Prince’s estate got Netflix to cancel the release of a controversial documentary about the singer.
President Trump vowed to bring plastic straws back with an executive order that would undo Biden’s push for paper straws.
US economy adds 143,000 jobs in January, short of expectations
The nonfarm payroll growth for last month is down from 307,000 jobs added in December and below economists'...
The nonfarm payroll growth for last month is down from 307,000 jobs added in December and below economists' estimates of 169,000. The unemployment rate fell slightly to 4% from 4.1% in December. Average hourly earnings rose 0.5% month over month and 4.1% year over year—both higher than expected. See all data here.
Crude falls for the week as Trump’s historic moves ‘write the script’ for oil in the short term
Oil futures climbed Friday from their lowest levels of the year, but...
Oil futures climbed Friday from their lowest levels of the year, but tallied a third straight weekly fall amid rising U.S. inventories and worries that the Trump administration’s higher tariffs on China will dent economic growth and demand for crude.
West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery rose 39 cents, or nearly 0.6%, to $71 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange — but prices for the front-month contract lost 2.1% for the week, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
April Brent crude the global benchmark, added 37 cents, or 0.5%, at $74.66 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe, for a weekly decline of 1.3%.
March gasoline tacked on 1.5% to $2.11 a gallon, up 2.2% for the week, while March heating oil climbed 1.4% to $2.43 a gallon, for a weekly rise of 1.4%.
Natural gas for Marchdelivery settled at $3.31 per million British thermal units, down 2.9% for the session but posting a weekly rise of 8.7%.
