US energy firms add rigs for third straight week

The US energy firms added oil and natural gas rigs for a third week in a row, but growth in the third quarter slowed due to recession fears and nagging supply shortages.

In its closely followed report on Friday, Baker Hughes Co said that the oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, increased one to 765 in the week to Sept. 30, as well as an increase in the oil and gas rig count. Baker Hughes said that puts the total rig count up 237, or 45%, over this time last year.

U.S. oil rigs rose two to 604 this week, while gas rigs fell one to 159.

After cutting them in August, drillers kept the number of rigs the same for the month.

In the third quarter drillers added rigs for an eighth quarter in a row, but the addition of 12 rigs was the smallest increase since September 2020.

In July, production rose 0.1% to 11.8 million barrels per day, its highest since April 2020, while gas output grew by 0.1 billion cubic feet per day to a record 109.6 bcfd in the month, according to the latest government monthly data showing crude production rose 0.1% to 11.8 million barrels per day, its highest since April 2020.

According to a survey released on Wednesday by the Federal Reserve BankFederal Reserve Bank of Dallas, the U.S. energy executives are fearful that an economic recession will cut oil and gas demand, complicating the picture for an industry already beset by supply chain issues and rising costs.

The Fed's company outlook index fell by 33 points to 33.1 during the quarter, while its uncertainty index jumped nearly threefold to 35.7, according to the survey, which polled 163 companies across Texas, New Mexico and Louisiana. The activity index dropped to 46 from a record 57.7 in the previous quarter.