U.S. oil rig count faced record fall in the last 16 months

According to new data from Baker Hughes, released on Friday, the number of functioning drilling rigs in the U.S. was reduced by 4 units of equipment. 

This week, the overall number of drilling rigs was reduced to 771. This is 304 units of equipment less than before the coronavirus epidemic in early 2019, and 167 units of equipment more than in early 2022.

The number of oil rigs in the U.S. has also fallen by 10 units of equipment to 613 this week. This is the biggest weekly decrease since September 2021. The number of gas rigs rose by 6 units to 156. The number of other rigs stayed the same — 2 units.

According to the last weekly assessments of EIA, production of crude in the country remained at the level of 12.2 million bpd in the week ended 13 January. U.S. production increased by 500,000 barrels per day compared to last year.