Baker Hughes: US drillers have cut oil and gas rigs four times in the last five weeks.

Baker Hughes, a leading energy services company, said that the U.S. oil and gas companies have cut back on the number of oil rigs for the fourth consecutive week.

In the week ending October 18, the oil and gas rig counts, which is an early indicator of future production, dropped by one to 585.

Baker Hughes reported that the total number of rigs is down by 39, or 6% from this time last.

Baker Hughes' website did not have any additional data about the breakdown of the oil and gas rigs. Baker Hughes officials were not available to comment immediately.

Oil and gas rig counts dropped by about 20% in the year 2023, after increasing by 33% and 67% respectively in 2022, 2021 and 2022. This was due to lower oil and natural gas prices and higher labor and equipment cost from rising inflation, as well as companies focusing on debt repayment and shareholder returns rather than raising output.

U.S. futures for oil are down about 3% in 2024, after falling by 11% in the previous year. U.S. futures for gas have fallen about 10% in 2024, after plummeting by 44% last year. (Reporting and Editing by Marguerita Chy)

(source: Reuters)