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US oil drillers add rigs for second straight week

US oil drillers add rigs for second straight week

Mubasher: US energy firms this week raised the number of active rigs drilling for oil for the second consecutive week, amidst worries that crude supplies would overwhelm global demand as US production continued to hit record levels.

Oil drillers added three oil rigs in the week ended 15 February, to a total count of 857, General Electric’s (GE) Baker Hughes energy services company said in its closely watched weekly report on Friday. This followed a rise of 7 in the oil-rig count a week earlier.

The US rig count, an early indicator of future production, remained higher than a year ago when 798 rigs operated after energy firms ramped up spending last year to capture then higher oil prices.

The total active US rig count, including also those units drilling for gas, edged up by 2 to 1,051, Baker Hughes said.

By 6:29 pm GMT, US Nymex crude futures rose 1.54% to $55.25 per barrel (pb), while global benchmark Brent futures climbed 2.17% to $65.97pb.