A drilling rig operates as the sun sets Wednesday, July 6, 2022, in Pecos, TX.
Jon Shapley, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographerThe U.S. rig count is up slightly this week even as fears of a looming recession continue and the price of oil fell through the week to below $100 per barrel.
The number of operating drill rigs nationally rose by two to 758 this week, according to oil field services company Baker Hughes. Oil and gas companies in the U.S. have added 287 rigs in the past year, a 54 percent increase from the 491 operating at this time last year.
Meanwhile, the price of West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark for crude oil, started the week around $100 per barrel and rose toward $105 per barrel on Tuesday. But following news Wednesday of declining fuel demand from the Energy Department, the price of crude dipped to about $95 per barrel Friday afternoon.
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Oil prices were already recovering from the pandemic this year, but Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine pushed them up even more as countries sanctioned Russian oil and gas, tightening global oil supplies that already couldn’t keep up with surging demand from pandemic recovery.
U.S. officials had been calling on companies to increase domestic production in hopes of easing prices. Analysts say companies are increasing output this year but staying with already planned increases instead of rapidly raising production. Meanwhile, investors have been pushing companies to return more money to shareholders and exercise discipline when it comes to spending.
