The oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, was unchanged at 586 in the week ended December 31, 2021 energy services firm Baker Hughes Co said in its closely followed report on Friday.
During December 2021, the total rig count rose by 17 and for the quarter the count was up 65, its fifth increase in a row. For the year the count was up 235. This was against a decrease of 454 rigs in 2020 and a decline of 278 rigs in 2019.
Even though the rig count has been rising for a record 17 months in a row, analysts noted production was still expected to ease as energy firms continue to focus more on returning money to investors than boosting output.
US oil rigs were steady at 480 during the week under review, while gas rigs were also unchanged at 106.
US crude futures traded around US$75 per barrel on Friday, putting the contract on track for its best month since February 2021.
With oil prices up about 55% this year, the best yearly performance since 2009 - some energy firms boost spending in 2021 and continue to do the same in 2022. They had cut drilling and completion expenditures in 2019 and 2020.
That spending increase was small and much of the money was spent on completing wells that were drilled in the past. This is termed DUC (drilled but uncompleted) wells.
Most firms continue to focus on boosting cash flow, reducing debt and increasing shareholder returns rather than adding output.
US oil production is estimated to have declined to 11.2 million bpd in 2021 from 11.3 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2020. However, output is likely to rise to 11.9 million bpd in 2022 according to government projections. The all-time annual high of 12.3 million bpd was achieved in 2019.
