USA rig count declines by 4 this week to 838

The total number of rigs in North Dakota is down about 62 percent from a year ago.

Of the 838 active rigs, 640 were seeking oil, 197 were exploring for natural gas and one was listed as miscellaneous.

The decline in the US rig count decelerated again to a drop of just four rigs in the count released by Baker Hughes Inc. on Friday (Sept. 25).

The collapse in drilling, a symptom of slumping oil prices, has cost almost 200,000 jobs worldwide, according to a recent tally by John Graves, president of Graves & Co.

But the falling rig count also is an outgrowth of more efficient drilling and moves by producers to focus on their most productive fields.

The Energy Information Administration and analysts at Goldman Sachs forecast that United States oil production would slow down from the second half of this year through 2016.

Because markets in China will be closed for a week-long holiday from 1 October, during which time hardly any economic data will be published from China either, there will be no further disruptive factors from this side, at least temporarily, which could give oil prices a boost.

Oil traders have moved away from substantial buying and selling based on the report.

US oil futures this week however were averaging $45 a barrel for a third week in a row, near the lowest levels for the year on continued lackluster global demand and lingering oversupply concerns.