U.S. gas rig count at 10-year low

PRODUCTION • The U.S. gas rig count tumbled to the lowest level in almost 10 years after futures and spot prices fell and energy producers shifted their rigs to focus on more profitable liquids drilling.

The gas count fell by 11 to 647, the lowest since May 2002, according to Baker

Hughes Inc. Oil rigs rose by 11 to 1,329 and now account for 67 per cent of the total, according to the Houston oilservices company’s website.

West Texas Intermediate crude has traded as much as $94.98 a barrel above the equivalent amount of gas this year. The spread has prompted energy producers to shift their focus away from gas exploration and toward oil and gas-liquids drilling, boosting U.S. crude production to a 10-year high.

“We expect gas rigs to keep dropping while oil rigs rise,” James Williams, an economist for energy research firm WTRG Economics in London, Ark., said. Canada rigs dropped for the ninth week, falling by 69 to 187, following a normal seasonal pattern.