General Electric Co’s Baker Hughes energy services firm has reported that during the week of Feb. 23, 2018, the U.S. oil rig count rose to 799, the highest level it has been since April 2015. This was also the first time since June that drillers added rigs for five consecutive weeks. The U.S. rig count, an early indicator of future output, is much higher than a year ago when 602 rigs were active as energy companies have continued to boost spending since mid-2016 when crude prices began recovering from a two-year crash.
In anticipation of higher prices in 2018 than 2017, U.S. financial services firm Cowen & Co said 53 of the roughly 65 exploration and production (E&P) companies they track, including Apache Corp, have already provided capital expenditure guidance indicating a nine percent increase in planned spending over 2017.
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