US oil rig count falls by most in a week since June 2023, Baker Hughes says

Scott DiSavino

Fri, Apr 11, 2025, 10:15 AM 2 min read

By Scott DiSavino

(Reuters) - U.S. vigor firms this week chopped lipid rigs by the astir successful a week since June 2023, lowering the full lipid and earthy state rig number for a 3rd consecutive week, vigor services steadfast Baker Hughes said successful its intimately followed study connected Friday.

The lipid and state rig count, an aboriginal indicator of aboriginal output, fell by 7 to 583 successful the week to April 11, the biggest play diminution since June 2024.

Baker Hughes said this week's diminution puts the full rig number down 34 rigs, oregon 6% beneath this clip past year.

Baker Hughes said lipid rigs fell by 9 to 480 this week, portion state rigs roseate by 1 to 97.

In the Permian basin successful West Texas and eastbound New Mexico, the nation's biggest oil-producing shale basin, the rig number fell by five, cutting the full number to 289, the lowest since December 2021.

The lipid and state rig number declined by astir 5% successful 2024 and 20% successful 2023 arsenic little U.S. lipid and state prices implicit the past mates of years prompted vigor firms to absorption much connected boosting shareholder returns and paying down indebtedness alternatively than expanding output.

Even though analysts forecast U.S. spot crude prices would diminution for a 3rd twelvemonth successful a enactment successful 2025, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) connected Thursday projected crude output would emergence from a grounds 13.2 cardinal barrels per time (bpd) successful 2024 to astir 13.5 cardinal bpd successful 2025.

That summation successful U.S. crude output, however, was little than EIA's outlook successful March owed to little lipid terms forecasts arsenic U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs summation the chances of weaker planetary economical maturation and lipid demand.

Oil accumulation successful the Permian was forecast to diminution to 6.51 cardinal bpd successful April from 6.57 cardinal bpd successful March, the EIA said.

On the state side, the EIA projected a 95% summation successful spot state prices successful 2025 would punctual producers to boost drilling enactment this twelvemonth aft a 14% terms driblet successful 2024 resulted successful a chopped successful output for the archetypal clip since the COVID-19 pandemic reduced request for the substance successful 2020. [NGAS/POLL]

The EIA projected state output would emergence to 105.3 cardinal cubic feet per time (bcfd) successful 2025, up from 103.2 bcfd successful 2024 and a grounds 103.6 bcfd successful 2023.

(Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Marguerita Choy)