A massive decline in the number of US oil rigs fails to stop the price slide

According to Baker Hughes, the number of active drilling rigs in the oil and gas sector fell sharply in the United States this week. This is the second major drop in as many weeks, keeping the total number of platforms below last year for the second week in a row.

In the United States, the total number of rigs operating in the oil and gas sector declined by 21, according to the report. This number was reduced from 20 to 805, while the number of gas drilling rigs decreased by 1 to 186.

The total number of oil and gas platforms combined is down for the first time since the end of 2016, with oil recording only a drop of 20 platforms and a decrease of 9 gas storage platforms compared to the same period last year.

At 10:41 am EST, WTI recorded a drop of $ 2.07 (-3.17%) to $ 63.17, despite the announcement announced earlier in the week that the United States is not going to sell. would not give up the sanctions imposed on Iranian oil. The price drop took place after the announcement by President Donald Trump that he had "called" OPEC to lower the price of gasoline.

The Brent benchmark was trading down $ 2.23 (+ 3.03%) to $ 71.40, also down from one week to the next.

Despite the sharp decline in the number of active oil rigs in the United States, US crude oil production has almost reached unprecedented highs, and for the week ending April 19, US oil production is at an all-time high. 12.2 million barrels, returning to its previous record. Highest time reached for the week ending March 29th.

Canada has held up well with the number of active oil platforms, with a 3-fold drop in the number of gas platforms. The number of Canadian oil rigs is now down 14 years, with gas platforms declining for 8 years.

WTI recorded a 3.97% drop that day at 1:09 pm EST, while Brent lost 3.79%, unaffected by the loss of platforms.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

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