Us drillers add oil rigs for sixth consecutive week
NEW YORK — US energy companies added oil rigs for a sixth week in a row as crude prices continue to soar to multi-year highs after new sanctions on Iran are anticipated to take some supply out of the market, further supporting US drilling and pushing production to record highs.
Drillers added 10 oil rigs in the week to May 11, bringing the total count to 844, the highest level since March 2015, General Electric Co’s Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its closely followed report on Friday.
That was the first time energy firms added rigs for six weeks in a row since early March.
The US rig count, an early indicator of future output, is much higher than a year ago when 712 rigs were active as energy companies have been ramping up production in tandem with Opec’s efforts to cut global output in a bid to take advantage of rising prices.
US crude output has surged since 2010, fuelled by output from formations in states including Texas, New Mexico and North Dakota. Amid the recovery in prices and drilling, production this year surpassed a previous longstanding output record.
The US Energy Information Administration on Tuesday projected average annual US oil output would rise 1.37 million barrels per day to a record high 10.72 million bpd in 2018 and 11.86 million bpd in 2019.
Texas energy regulators said in a report this week the state issued a third more oil and gas drilling permits in April than a year ago as higher prices continue to spur an increase in activity.