US rig count up after 29-week decline

USA

HOUSTON, July 3, 2015 – The slowdown in US oil and gas production may be ending, as the country’s rig count increased this week after 29 weeks of declines.

The number of active rigs grew by 12 to 640 after having steadily fallen from a peak of 1,609 in October.

The reversal in drilling activity is credited with contributing to a Friday dip in oil prices, with investors wary of a glut in global supplies.

Rigs were added in all the the country’s major shale basins, from Eagle Ford and the Bakken to Niobrara and the Permian.

A report this week from banking advisory firm Evercore ISI said that 100 new rigs could be put into action in the US by the year’s end.

“The bottom is passing and the upturn is arriving,” the report stated.

The weekly rig count is kept by US oilfield services company Baker Hughes.

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