The number of active drilling rigs in the United States rose by 3 this week—the 15 th straight weekly increase to the number of oil and gas rigs in the United States. The total rig count now sits at 613 as the price of a WTI barrel continues to climb to levels not seen since 2014—an attraction to drillers that could find too hard to pass up despite the push to maintain capital discipline and return money to shareholders. Baker Hughes reported this week that the total active rig figure—oil, gas, and miscellaneous—is 221 rigs higher than the rig count this time in 2021. Oil-directed rigs rose 2 to 497, while gas-directed rigs were up by 1 to 116. While the U.S. is seeing steady gains in the number of drilling rigs, and while the longer-term trend of U.S. oil production is upward, the recent short-term trend for oil […]