U.S. energy firms this week reduced the number of oil rigs operating for a fifth week in a row to its lowest in nearly a year as independent producers follow through on plans to cut spending on new drilling with the government cutting its growth forecasts for shale output.
Source: www.reuters.com
The closely followed U.S. rig count report by Baker Hughes showed that U.S. oil companies cut nine oil rigs in the week to March 22. This figure brings the total count down to 824, which is the lowest since April 2018 and close to the year ago period figure of 804 rigs. The decline is the fifth in a row and has not been seen since May 2016 when it fell for eight consecutive weeks. A couple primary reason for the continued decline is spending cuts by independent exploration and production companies as they focus on earnings growth instead of increased output with crude prices projected to decline in 2019 versus 2018.
