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Reuters
NEW YORK
US energy companies this week added the most oil rigs since May as drillers follow though on plans to spend more on exploration and production in anticipation of higher crude prices in 2018 than recent years.
Drillers added 10 oil rigs in the week to Aug. 10, bringing the total count to 869, the highest level since March 2015, General Electric Co's Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its closely followed report on Friday.
That rig count increase occurred despite US crude prices being on track to fall for a sixth week in a row for the first time since August 2015 on worries trade tensions between the United States and China could hurt oil demand.
The US rig count, an early indicator of future output, is higher than a year ago when 768 rigs were active as energy companies have been ramping up production in anticipation of higher prices in 2018 than previous years.
So far this year, U.S. oil futures have averaged $66.28 per barrel. That compares with averages of $50.85 in 2017 and $43.47 in 2016.
Looking ahead, crude futures were trading near $67 for the balance of 2018 and over $64 for calendar 2019.
In recent weeks, Anadarko, Apache, Cabot and other energy firms have boosted the amount of capital they plan to spend on drilling and completions in 2018.
