US Oil Drillers Continue to Pull Back As Prices Bite

Julianne Geiger reported on May 30, 2025, at 12:12 PM CDT that the total number of active oil and gas drilling rigs in the United States decreased once again this week, as per new data released by Baker Hughes on Friday. This follows a reduction of 10 rigs last week and 6 rigs the week before. The total rig count in the US dropped by 3 to 563 rigs, a decrease of 37 from the same period last year. The number of oil rigs decreased by 4 to 461, down by 35 from last year, while the gas rigs increased by 1 to 99, a loss of 1 rig from the previous year. The miscellaneous rig count remained unchanged at 3. Weekly U.S. crude oil production increased to 13.401 million bpd from 13.392 million bpd. The Frac Spread Count by Primary Vision, estimating the number of crews completing wells, decreased to 186 from 193 the previous week and is now 29 less than on March 21. WTI was trading lower at $60.28 per barrel, down $0.66 (-1.08%) from the previous day, while Brent was down $0.27 (-0.42%) at $63.88. The WTI benchmark was more than $1 lower than the previous Friday’s price.