
Baker Hughes Reports Third Straight Oil Rig Count Uptick as Crude Climbs
Baker Hughes (BHI) reported a third consecutive weekly uptick in U.S. oil rigs, marking the sixth active rig increase reported by the oilfield services giant in the past seven weeks.
The Houston company said Friday that U.S. oil rigs were up to 357 this week, an increase of six rigs over last week.
Meanwhile, U.S. natural gas rigs were up one to 89 from 88 last week and miscellaneous rigs were once again stagnant at 1.
The U.S. offshore count registered a three-rig gain to 22, the first uptick in the count in some time. Offshore rigs are down by nine year-over-year.
The positive rig news comes despite another choppy week in oil markets, which took a bludgeoning mid-week following calls for a persisting global supply glut.
But the poor global outlook doesn't appear to have stymied U.S. producers' ambitions, nor has it stalled the late-week momentum of oil futures, as solid consumer data from both the United States and China boosted the oil demand outlook Friday.
Brent crude futures for September delivery had climbed 17 cents to $47.54 a barrel by 1 p.m. EDT on Friday, while West Texas Intermediate contracts for August delivery were up 12 cents at $45.80 a barrel.
Perhaps providing more good tidings for energy investors, Baker Hughes reported Friday the number of active U.S. oil and gas rigs increased by seven to 447 from 440 last week.
The increase in oil rigs may not come as a surprise to industry followers, many of whom have indicated prices stabilizing between $45 and $50 a barrel would support an uptick in producer activity.
Baker Hughes' U.S. rig count is down 410 rigs from last year's count of 857, with oil rigs down 281, gas rigs down 129, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 1.
But industry watchers anticipate the good news will keep on rolling, with Seaport Global analysts noting Friday that the U.S. rig count appears to have passed its bottom.
Leading into Friday's report, both the S&P Global RigData and Baker Hughes rig counts had risen five out of the six previous weeks.
Last week, the first full week of the third quarter, RigData reported an increase of 11 rigs bringing the total number of rigs to 410. Seaport estimated that if the average RigData third-quarter count remains at 410 rigs, it would represent a 12% quarter-over-quarter increase.
SeaPort said the Bakken Basin, which underlies parts of Montana and North Dakota, and West Texas' lucrative Permian Basin bulked up the most in the first week of the quarter, per RigData's numbers, gaining six rigs and three rigs, respectively.
The Baker Hughes rig count increased nine rigs to 440 total rigs in the first week of the third quarter. If the average Baker Hughes third-quarter rig count remains at 440 rigs, it would represent a 5% quarter-over-quarter increase, the firm estimated.









