U.S. energy firms this week added oil and natural gas rigs for a second week in a row, boosting the monthly count by the most since November 2022, energy services firm Baker Hughes said in its closely followed report on Friday.
The oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, rose by three to 589 in the week to July 26.
Despite this week’s rig increase, Baker Hughes said the total count was still down by 75, or 11% below this time last year.
Baker Hughes said oil rigs rose five to 482 this week, while gas rigs fell by two to 101.
In the Permian in West Texas and eastern New Mexico, the nation’s biggest oil-producing basin and home to more than half the rigs in the country, drillers cut one rig, bringing the count down to 304, the lowest since February 2022.
In the Williston in North Dakota and Montana, drillers added one rig, bringing the count up to 36, the highest since June 2023.
In July, total oil and gas rigs rose by eight, their first monthly increase since February, and the biggest monthly increase since November 2022.
Oil rigs rose by three in July, putting the count up for the first month since March, while gas rigs climbed by four in their biggest monthly increase since July 2023.
The oil and gas rig count fell nearly 7% in the first half of the year, extending a slump of about 20% in 2023 due to weak energy prices, high labor and equipment costs and as drillers paid down debt and boosted shareholder returns instead of raising output.
U.S. oil futures were up about 8% so far in 2024 after dropping by 11% in 2023, while U.S. gas futures were down about 20% so far in 2024 after plunging by 44% in 2023.
Baker Hughes beat analysts’ estimates for second-quarter profit on Thursday, powered by higher demand in international markets, echoing results from rivals SLB and Halliburton.
Revenue from its North America segment, however, fell 1.8% as a slump in gas prices due to high inventories prompted operators in the U.S. to rein in activity.
(Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Marguerita Choy)