US Boosts Shale Rigs Again

Shale drillers boosted drilling activity in the US oil patch to the highest in three years even as American crude output touched unprecedented levels.  US working oil rigs rose by 11 this week to 808, the highest since March 2015, according to data from Baker Hughes. It’s the ninth increase in the past 11 weeks, World Oil reported. Oil explorers are expected to crank up spending in the US by 37% to $134 billion this year, assuming an underlying average oil price of $65 per barrel, according to Raymond James & Associates Inc. That would follow a 77% hike in 2017, analysts such as Pavel Molchanov and Marshall Adkins wrote this week in a note to investors. “US spending will still likely be up sharply, even as public E&Ps become more returns driven,” the analysts wrote. “If oil prices remain in the mid-$60s, there is clearly room to flex up spending as the year progresses, since many of these budgets were set on the assumption of mid-$50s oil.”