The number of active oil and gas rigs in the U.S. increases for the sixth consecutive week

Foreign News reported on October 15 that the number of active oil and gas drilling rigs in US energy companies increased for the sixth consecutive week this week, as oil prices soared to the highest level since 2014, prompting some drilling companies to return to drilling rigs
.


US oil service company Baker Hughes said in a closely watched report on Friday that as of the week of October 15, the number of active oil and gas drilling rigs increased by 10 to 543, since April 2020.
Highest
.
This is an increase of 261 seats, or 93%, over the same period last year
.


This week, the number of oil rigs in the United States increased by 12 to 445, the highest since April 2020 and the largest increase since April 2021; the number of natural gas rigs decreased by one to 98, the lowest since August
.


US crude oil futures rose this week to their highest level since 2014, trading on Friday at around US$82 a barrel.
As natural gas and coal prices soared to prompt people to switch to petroleum products, there will be a shortage of petroleum supplies in the coming months
.


As oil prices have risen by about 69% so far this year, some energy companies said they plan to increase spending in 2021 after cutting drilling and completion spending in the past two years
.


But the increase in expenditure is still small, as most companies continue to focus on improving cash flow, reducing debt and increasing shareholder income, rather than increasing production
.

Analysts at Gelber and Associates said in a report: "As oil prices continue to soar, producers are expected to increase drilling activities moderately
.
"

But the increase in these rigs will take time to translate into an increase in oil production
.


According to government forecasts, U.
S.
oil production is expected to decline from 11.
3 million barrels per day in 2020 to 11 million barrels per day in 2021, and then rise to 11.
70 million barrels per day in 2022.

.
In comparison, the output in 2019 was 12.
3 million barrels per day, the highest level in annual history
.


  Enverus, which releases data on the number of its own rigs, said that in the week ending October 13, drillers added 10 rigs, of which 7 were located in Permian shale in Texas and New Mexico
.


  Curiously, the increase in natural gas prices has been even greater-futures prices have risen by 115% so far this year-and drillers have not been encouraged to seek more natural gas
.
Since the beginning of the year, the number of oil rigs has increased by about 67%, while the number of active natural gas rigs has only increased by about 19%
.


  Analysts said that there are many reasons for the increase in oil rigs more than natural gas, including domestic natural gas demand in the United States that has been declining since its record high in 2019, the new crown pneumonia epidemic disrupted demand in 2020, and high prices in 2021 led to power generation.
The factory uses more coal
.


  In addition, the United States has done everything it can to convert natural gas into liquefied natural gas for export, so producing more natural gas will only lower the price and cannot meet the growth in demand
.