U.S. drillers continued to add rigs last week following news of planned production cuts from OPEC members.
According to Baker Hughes, the number of natural gas and oil rigs operating in the United States climbed by 27 to 624 rigs for the week of December 9 compared to 709 rigs a year ago.
The oil rig count jumped by 21 to 498 rigs, still down from 524 rigs during the same period last year.
The natural gas rig count rose by six to 125 rigs compared to 185 rigs in the year-ago period.
The directional rig count climbed to 51 rigs after a five rig gain but was still down from 64 rigs a year ago.
The horizontal rig count surged by 18 to 503 rigs compared to 554 rigs during the same period last year.
The vertical rig count ticked up by four rigs to 70 rigs, down from 91 rigs a year ago.
Alaska, Louisiana and Oklahoma each lost one rig last week, holding rig counts in all three states below year-ago levels.
Rig counts in California, Ohio, Utah and West Virginia held steady from the previous week.
Pennsylvania’s rig count rose by two rigs to 31 rigs, up from 30 rigs during the same period last year.
A six rig gain in Colorado pushed the state’s rig count up to 26 rigs compared to 25 rigs a year ago.
Wyoming’s rig count rose to 20 rigs after a three rig gain, just one rig shy of the state’s year-ago level.
Texas saw the largest rig gain of any major producing state after a 17 rig gain pushed the state’s rig count up to 303 rigs compared to 324 rigs during the same period last year.
The Permian Basin saw its rig count surge past the area’s year-ago level after an 11 rig.
The gains pushed the Permian’s rig count up to 246 rigs compared to 204 rigs during the same week last year.
The DJ-Niobrara Basin saw its rig count climb to 24 rigs after a six rig gain compared to 23 rigs a year ago.
The Eagle Ford Basin’s rig count increased by three to 43 rigs compared to 76 rigs during the same week last year.
The Utica Basin’s rig count held steady at 19 rigs last week, up from 16 rigs during the same week last year.
The Williston Basin’s rig count inched up by one to 32 rigs compared to 58 rigs a year ago.
The Marcellus and Granite Wash basins added two rigs each last week, holding rig counts in both basins just below year-ago levels.
Rig counts in the Ardmore Woodford, Arkoma Woodford, Fayetteville, Haynesville and Mississippian were unchanged from the previous week.
The Gulf of Mexico saw its rig count hold steady at 22 rigs last week compared to 23 rigs in the year ago period.
Canada’s rig count rose above the year-ago level to 230 rigs after adding 17 oil rigs and 14 gas rigs but losing one miscellaneous rig.
OPEC members agreed earlier this month to cut production down by just over 1 million barrels per day to 32.5 million bpd starting on January 1.
An analysis conducted by S&P Global Platts found that the production cuts are expected to spur further production gains in the Permian Basin’s Delaware and Midland areas.
