During the reporting week, the number of active oil rigs in the U.S. decreased by 11, marking the largest weekly decline since September 2021. This information was provided by the oil services company, Baker Hughes, on Friday.

The decline in oil prices is influenced by the U.S. government debt situation.

In addition, the number of active gas drilling rigs also experienced a significant decrease of 17 units during the previous week, the most significant weekly decline since June 2020.

The cumulative number of active oil and gas rigs dropped by 11 units to a total of 720 during the week of May 13-19, which is the lowest level seen since May 2022.

According to Baker Hughes, this figure represents an 8-unit decline or a 1% decrease compared to the same period last year. It is the first decline of this kind since April 2021.

Specifically, the number of active oil rigs in the U.S. decreased by 11 units to 575, reaching its lowest point since June 2022. Meanwhile, the number of gas rigs remained unchanged at 141 units.

The most substantial decline occurred in Texas, where the total number of rigs fell by 9 units to reach 355 units during the reporting week, reaching the lowest level seen since May 2022.

In the Eagle Ford field, the number of rigs decreased by 3 units to 59, which is the lowest level observed since April 2022. Similarly, the Permian Basin experienced a decline of 4 units, reaching its lowest point since March, with a total of 349 units.

On a positive note, the rig count in New Mexico increased by 1 unit to 109, which is the highest level recorded since February.

Earlier we reported that oil prices were preparing to show their first weekly rise in a month.