AGL 40.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.16 (-0.4%)
AIRLINK 129.53 Decreased By ▼ -2.20 (-1.67%)
BOP 6.68 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.15%)
CNERGY 4.63 Increased By ▲ 0.16 (3.58%)
DCL 8.94 Increased By ▲ 0.12 (1.36%)
DFML 41.69 Increased By ▲ 1.08 (2.66%)
DGKC 83.77 Decreased By ▼ -0.31 (-0.37%)
FCCL 32.77 Increased By ▲ 0.43 (1.33%)
FFBL 75.47 Increased By ▲ 6.86 (10%)
FFL 11.47 Increased By ▲ 0.12 (1.06%)
HUBC 110.55 Decreased By ▼ -1.21 (-1.08%)
HUMNL 14.56 Increased By ▲ 0.25 (1.75%)
KEL 5.39 Increased By ▲ 0.17 (3.26%)
KOSM 8.40 Decreased By ▼ -0.58 (-6.46%)
MLCF 39.79 Increased By ▲ 0.36 (0.91%)
NBP 60.29 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
OGDC 199.66 Increased By ▲ 4.72 (2.42%)
PAEL 26.65 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.15%)
PIBTL 7.66 Increased By ▲ 0.18 (2.41%)
PPL 157.92 Increased By ▲ 2.15 (1.38%)
PRL 26.73 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.19%)
PTC 18.46 Increased By ▲ 0.16 (0.87%)
SEARL 82.44 Decreased By ▼ -0.58 (-0.7%)
TELE 8.31 Increased By ▲ 0.08 (0.97%)
TOMCL 34.51 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.12%)
TPLP 9.06 Increased By ▲ 0.25 (2.84%)
TREET 17.47 Increased By ▲ 0.77 (4.61%)
TRG 61.32 Decreased By ▼ -1.13 (-1.81%)
UNITY 27.43 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.04%)
WTL 1.38 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (7.81%)
BR100 10,407 Increased By 220 (2.16%)
BR30 31,713 Increased By 377.1 (1.2%)
KSE100 97,328 Increased By 1781.9 (1.86%)
KSE30 30,192 Increased By 614.4 (2.08%)

US energy firms this week reduced the number of oil rigs operating for the third time in four weeks even as crude production forecasts increase despite some drillers cutting spending.

Drillers cut two oil rigs in the week to May 10, bringing the total count down to 805, General Electric Co's Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its closely followed report on Friday.

That put the US rig count, an early indicator of future output, below the 844 drilling a year ago.

The rig count has declined over the past five months as independent exploration and production companies cut spending on new drilling as they focus more on earnings growth instead of increased output.

Major oil companies, like Exxon Mobil Corp and Chevron Corp, however, are boosting their presence, particularly in the Permian, the largest US shale oil field.

The Energy Information Administration this week raised its forecast for US crude output, projecting it would reach a record 12.5 million barrels per day in 2019, and 13.4 million bpd in 2020, up from the current all-time high of 11.0 million bpd.

US crude futures, meanwhile, were trading around $62 per barrel on Friday, leaving the contract little changed for the week as tightened global supplies overshadowed trade tensions stoked by a US move to hike tariffs on Chinese goods.

Looking ahead, crude futures were trading just below $62 a barrel for the balance of 2019, and above $59 in calendar 2020.

US financial services firm Cowen & Co this week said that projections from the exploration and production (E&P) companies it tracks point to a 5 percent decline in capital expenditures for drilling and completions in 2019, versus 2018.

Cowen said independent producers expect to spend about 11 percent less in 2019, while major oil companies plan to spend about 16 percent more.

In total, Cowen said all of the E&P companies it tracks that have reported will spend about $81.9 billion in 2019 versus $86.4 billion in 2018.

Year-to-date, the total number of oil and gas rigs active in the United States has averaged 1,031.

Most rigs produce both oil and gas.

Analysts at Simmons & Co, energy specialists at US investment bank Piper Jaffray, however, forecast the average combined oil and gas rig count will slide from 1,032 in 2018, to 1,019 in 2019, before rising to 1,097 in 2020.

That is the same as Simmons predictions since early April.

Copyright Reuters, 2019

Comments

Comments are closed.