Data presented by Bankr indicates that the United States oil and gas rigs in operation have dropped by 59.49%. The drop was recorded between February 2020 and November 2020.
In February, the rigs were 790 while in November the number was at 320. In March, the rigs plunged to 728 before dropping by 36.2% to 465 in April. As of May, operating rigs stood at 301 and later declined to 265 in June.
The lowest number of operating rigs was in July at 251 which slightly rose in August at 254. The increase continued in September to 261 while in October, the number was 296.
Crude reality
The research also overviewed the weekly Brent, OPEC Basket, and WTI crude oil prices between December 30, 2019, to December 7, 2020. During the period, the OPEC basket dropped by 30.65% with the lowest price at $14.19 on April 20.
WTI crude oil prices plunged by 25.81% while April 20 registered the lowest price at -$37.63. Elsewhere, the Brent price plummeted by 28.71% and the lowest value was on April 28 at $20.46.
The Bankr research offered insight into the future outlook of the oil industry as recovery from the pandemic continues. According to the research report:
“Going into 2021, the pandemic’s full effect on the oil rigs and prices cannot be fully quantified. The crush might have a lasting impact on consumption due to changing consumer behaviour. In the long-term, the pandemic is likely to affect oil consumption as people cut on air travel for business with a preference for remote working. Working from home trends might also lower the gasoline demand.”
