The number of oil rigs in the U.S. increased to 854 in the week ending Feb. 8, up by 7 over the previous week, according to data released by oilfield services company Baker Hughes on Friday.
Following the increase in the oil rig count, crude oil prices showed losses in the global market on Friday, with international benchmark Brent crude closing at $62.16 per barrel while American benchmark West Texas Intermediate finished the day at $52.62 a barrel.
According to the data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Wednesday, crude oil production in the country increased slightly by 9,000 barrels per day (bpd) to remain at record high level of around 11.9 million bpd (mbpd) for the week ending Feb.1.
The increase in crude production came from the state of Alaska. Output remained unchanged in other U.S. states excluding Hawaii.
This marked the 43rd time crude oil production in the U.S. showed an increase over the past 56 weeks.
Since the week ending Nov. 9, 2018, crude oil production in the country has marked historic highs of 11.7 mbpd, and climbed to a new record high of 11.9 mbpd for the week ending Jan. 11, according to the EIA data.
The U.S.' crude oil production is expected to average 12.1 mbpd in 2019 and 12.9 mbpd in 2020, according to the EIA's Short Term Energy Outlook report for January.
By Firdevs Yuksel
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr