On Friday, energy services firm Baker Hughes said that the US oil rig counts added by one for the first time since March last week, on the back of the gradually-recovered crude prices which prompted some producers to increase operations.
In the week ended July 24, the US oil rig count rose by one to 181.
However, the gas rig count dropped by three to 68, the record-lowest since the data started in 1987. Therefore, the total count of oil and gas rigs was at 695, the record low for a 12th consecutive week and down by 73% year-on-year.
Oil prices were still down by about 33% from the start of 2020, but the improvement in oil rig count came as, in the last three months, US crude futures have soared by 118% to roughly USD41/barrel, bringing hopes on recovering global economies as governments around the world lift lockdowns.
Going forward, many analysts predicted the rig count to find a bottom in the near future unless there would be a substantial fall in prices.
Analysts at Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. commented, “Some incremental rig adds will start to materialize towards the back half of the third quarter.”
