Houston — The number of rigs drilling for gas and oil in US basins rose to 902 this week, up two rigs from the previous week, as prices for both commodities remained low compared with year-ago prices, according to data released Thursday by Enverus.
The rig count for oil-directed rigs remained fairly steady week over week, as the number of rigs drilling for oil in the Permian Basin fell by two to 407, while the Bakken Shale rig count remained flat at 55, compared with the previous week.
Average crude oil prices in the US rose to $54.20/b compared with $53.60 in the previous week. However, crude prices in the week fell $13.79/b compared with the same week of the previous year.
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In the Haynesville Shale play of northern Louisiana the number of gas-directed drilling rigs rose by two to 57, compared with the previous week, as average Henry Hub gas prices remained relatively flat at $2.18/MMBtu versus $2.19/MMBtu in the previous week. Gas prices in the basin were $1.08/MMBtu lower than prices in the comparable week of 2018.
The number of rigs drilling for gas in the Appalachian Basin fell by six week over week, as the number of rigs targeting the Marcellus Shale fell to 36, four fewer than were operating in the play the previous week. The Utica Shale rig count fell to 15, down two from the previous week.
Average gas prices as the Dominion South pricing point rose to $1.77/MMBtu up 33 cents/MMBtu from the previous week, but $1.27/MMBtu lower than prices recorded in the same week of last year.
-- Jim Magill, jim.magill@spglobal.com
-- Edited by Debiprasad Nayak, newsdesk@spglobal.com