Rig pattern still zigzags but becoming more settled US land rig visibility ‘murky’ before Q2 earnings start Permian falls six to 440 in biggest basin decline Houston — The US oil and natural gas rig count dropped by 17 week on week to 1,040, S&P Global Platts Analytics said Thursday, as activity continued its seesaw trajectory following a national holiday. Receive daily email alerts, subscriber notes & personalize your experience. Register Now Rigs directed to oil saw an even bigger drop — 20 to 828 — while the number of gas rigs rose by four to 209. A one rig decrease was posted for rigs not classified as either oil or gas. Despite the overall drop in the rig count, the tally of private operators rose, according to Platts Analytics. That indicates that the privates are going ahead with the mid-year drilling budgets, helped by the recent uptick […]