02-02-2015, 11:10 PM
U.S. drillers idled oil rigs for an eighth week as crude prices headed for their longest stretch of declines since 2009. The oil rig count dropped by 94 this week to a three-year low of 1,223, Baker Hughes Inc. said on its website Friday. Drillers have idled 352 oil rigs in eight weeks. Natural gas rigs increased by three to 319 and one miscellaneous rig was added, bringing the total count down 90 to 1,543.
Rigs seeking U.S. oil drop for eighth week, Baker Hughes says
The oil and gas industry’s leading magazine for upstream technology and activity, World Oil, forecasts a sharp drop in drilling, both in the U.S. and internationally, as a direct result of plunging crude oil prices. In its 89th annual forecast and review, World Oil predicts an average WTI oil price of $55.75/barrel (bbl), while Brent will be $58.80/bbl. A Henry Hub natural gas price of $3.35/MMBtu is expected.
World Oil anticipates a drilling recovery after the oil price decline
OPEC oil production rose in January as record Iraqi output helped drive prices near six-year lows. Production by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries climbed 483,000 bopd to 30.905 MMbopd this month, led by gains in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Angola, according to a Bloomberg survey of oil companies, producers and analysts.
OPEC January crude output rises as Iraq pumps at record pace
In 2009, production hits a breakeven price of $80 a barrel at production levels of just 10,000 kbd. By 2011, drilling techniques that broke even at $80 a barrel netted you 20,000 kbd of production. But by 2014, $80 a barrel was the breakeven price for 25,000 kbd of production. So in just five years, the amount of oil that was produced with a breakeven price of $80 a barrel more than tripled. And what's more, over this period, oil prices lingered between $90-$100 a barrel.