Another six drilling rigs seeking crude were added this week to US oilfields as the industry slowly begins to ramp up activity. The energy sector added seven more rigs in all, including one searching for natural gas, to bring the total count up to 447 rigs, up from a low of 404 rigs in May, according to data from the Baker Hughes oilfield services firm. Of the 447 rigs, 357 of them are primarily drilling for oil, Fuel Fix reported. The industry started putting rigs back into operation at the end of May after many months of reductions during the oil bust. Most of the growth this week came in the New Mexico portion of the Permian Basin near the Texas border. New Mexico added four rigs this week, while Texas only brought on one more. Despite this week’s jump, the oil rig count is down 78% from its peak of 1,609 in October 2014 before oil prices began plummeting.
