U.S. Oil Rig Count Rises for Second Straight Week
October 18 2019 - 1:42PM
Dow Jones News
By Maria Armental
The number of rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. rose by one in
the past week to 713, the second week it increased after seven
weeks of declines, according to oil-field services company Baker
Hughes.
The nation's gas-rig count, however, continued the downward
trend, falling by six in the latest period to 137 rigs, according
to the company.
The U.S. offshore-rig count fell by two to 22 but is up by two
compared with a year ago.
The U.S. oil-rig count is viewed as a proxy for activity in the
sector. After peaking at 1,609 in October 2014, low oil prices put
downward pressure on production and the rig count fell sharply. The
oil-rig count has generally been rising since the summer of
2016.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude traded lower Friday around
$59.17 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S.
price benchmark, traded down around $53.49 a barrel.
Write to Maria Armental at maria.armental@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 18, 2019 13:27 ET (17:27 GMT)
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