Oil Prices Continue To Climb As Pace Of Drilling Continues To Slow

The total number of active drilling rigs in the United States fell by 5 again this week, according to new data from Baker Hughes published Friday. The total rig count fell to 659 this week. So far this year, Baker Hughes has estimated a loss of 120 active drilling rigs. This week’s count is 416 fewer rigs than the rig count at the beginning of 2019 prior to the pandemic.

The number of oil rigs declined by 4 this week to 525, down by 96 so far in 2023. The number of gas rigs stayed the same at 128, a loss of 28 active gas rigs from the start…