US Oil Rig Count Grows By Seven

U.S. energy companies this week added oil rigs for the second time in the last three weeks even as new drilling has largely stalled since June due to pipeline constraints in the country’s biggest oil field.

Drillers added seven oil rigs in the week to Sept. 14, the biggest weekly increase in a month, bringing the total count to 867, Baker Hughes, a GE company, said in its weekly report.

The U.S. rig count, an early indicator of future output, is higher than a year ago when 749 rigs were active as energy companies have been ramping up production in anticipation of higher prices in 2018 than previous years.