WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The number of oil rigs in the United States dropped 7 percent in the past week, as energy companies have slowed down their search for oil faced by decreasing crude oil prices of 50 percent below summer highs, US drilling contractor Baker Hughes revealed in its weekly data.
The US oil rig count dropped to 1,140 on Friday from 1,223 on January 30, continuing a 29 percent decline since an October 10 high of 1,609 rigs, according to the data published on Baker Hughes' website on Friday.
the latest Baker Hughes rig count, via @AndyKiersz http://t.co/nFhHQwCD8L pic.twitter.com/PJ475gcHGo
— Myles Udland (@m_udland) 6 февраля 2015
Benchmark West Texas Intermediate Crude oil prices hovered below $52 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) on Friday from a high of nearly $100 per barrel in June last year.
Baker Hughes has tracked rotary rig counts since 1944 as a service to the petroleum industry. “The Baker Hughes Rig Counts are an important business barometer for the drilling industry and its suppliers,” according to the company’s website.
Oil companies and service companies have announced layoffs and cuts in exploration and drilling in the wake of sharp oil price declines.
