U.S Oil Rig Count Hikes Up 19

The U.S oil rig count jumped by 19 to 471 this week, according to oilfield-services giant Baker Hughes. The increase marks the 22nd weekly rise out of the last 24 weeks. It was also the largest jump since the week of July 24, 2015 when the count rose by 21.

Last week, the tally of oil rigs increased by two.

The number of gas-only rigs rose by 1 to 116. This brings the total number of active oil and gas rigs to 588, an increase of 20. The total count is lower by 169 from a year-earlier, while the oil-only is down by 84.

The number of oil and gas rigs in U.S. fields unexpectedly rose this week, rising by 20 — the largest jump since the peak of the shale oil boom two years ago.

U.S. oil drillers collectively sent 19 more rigs into the patch, the Houston oilfield services company Baker Hughes reported Friday. Gas drillers added one rig.

The rise was driven largely by drillers in West Texas’ Permian Basin, which added 11 rigs.

The total rig count rose to 588, up from a low of 404 in May. U.S. oil companies haven’t added this many rigs since May of 2014, when oil was still bringing $100 a barrel.

The count, however, still lags the same period last year, when 757 drilling rigs were operating in U.S. oil and gas fields.

The number of active oil rigs jumped to 471 this week. Gas rigs ticked up to 116. Even the number of offshore rigs rose, by 3 to 23, down 7 year over year.

Total rig counts lifted by eight in Texas, four in Louisiana, four in Oklahoma, three in Ohio and two in Colorado. They fell by one in North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Wyoming.

Drilling activity has followed the modest rebound in prices, from February’s low of about $26 a barrel to more than $50 in recent weeks.

As crude prices stabilized in a price range between $40 and $50 per barrel earlier this year, demand for oilfield services increased. That spiked the rig count at a pace not seen since oil prices crashed two years ago.