Oil Markets
Oil prices fell on Friday, weighed down by a drop in the U.S. equities market, but Brent still marked a weekly increase, supported by easing trade tensions and a temporary shutdown by Saudi Arabia of a key crude oil shipping lane.
Brent crude futures fell 25 cents to settle at $74.29 a barrel but notched a 1.8 percent weekly increase, its first increase in four weeks.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 92 cents to settle at $68.69 a barrel, and marked the fourth week of declines, falling about 2.4 percent.
RIG COUNT
Weekly Summary: Rigs engaged in the exploration and production in the U.S. gained +2 for the week ended July 27, 2018, climbing to 1048. Land rigs gained +6 to 1030. The offshore rig count was down -1 at 16. Rigs drilling in the inland waters were down -3, from 5 to 2 for the week.
Oil Rig Count: The US crude oil rig count was up +3 at 861 for the week. There are 95 more rigs targeting oil than last year. Rigs drilling for oil represent 82.1 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 -1, decreasing to 186. The number of rigs drilling for gas is lower by 6 rigs than last year’s level of 192.
AMONG MAJOR OIL- AND GAS-PRODUCING STATES:
GAINERS
Pennsylvania gained two rigs. Alaska, Kansas, New Mexico, North Dakota, Texas and West Virginia each increased by one.
UNCHANGED
Five states were unchanged this week, namely Arkansas, California, Colorado, Utah and Wyoming.
LOSERS
Louisiana lost four rigs. Ohio and Oklahoma each decreased by one.
Summary of Major Plays – Ranked By Rig Count
– Permian Basin 480 rigs compared to last week’s 476 rigs
– Eagle Ford 80 rigs compared to last week’s 81 rigs
– Cana Woodford 71 rigs compared to last week’s 71 rigs
– Williston 57 rigs compared to last week’s 56 rigs
– Marcellus 55 rigs compared to last week’s 52 rigs
– Haynesville 48 rigs compared to last week’s 49 rigs
– DJ-Niobrara 25 rigs compared to last week’s 25 rigs
– Utica 23 rigs compared to last week’s 24 rigs
– Granite Wash 14 rigs compared to last week’s 12 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
