Hart Energy Unconventional Activity Tracker (Week of May 31, 2021)

Rig count down slightly for second week in a row

According to Enverus, the U.S. rig count fell slightly for the second week in a row, leading to the conclusion that last week’s sudden drop was more than a blip caused by rig downtime — some rigs moving between wells. The count is down 4% in the last month, but up 63% year-over-year.
The largest month-over-month decline by region occurred in Appalachia, falling by four to 45. Four operators reduced their rig counts by a rig apiece: EQT Corp., Gulfport Energy, HG Energy and Range Resources. Gulfport is now running a single rig; the other three companies have two rigs each.

U.S. crude futures were trading below $64 per barrel on May 21, putting the contract up about 31% so far this year after they dropped about 21% last year.

U.S. oil output from seven major shale formations, including the Bakken, is expected to climb by 26,000 barrels per day in June to 7.73 million barrels per day, the first rise in three months, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in a monthly forecast on May 17.

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