(Adds Haynesville and Williston basin counts)
June 30 (Reuters) – U.S. energy firms this week cut the number of oil and natural gas rigs operating for a ninth week in a row for the first time since July 2020, energy services firm Baker Hughes Co said in its closely followed report on Friday.
The oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, fell by eight to 674 in the week to June 30, the lowest since April 2022.
Baker Hughes said the change puts the total rig count down 76 rigs, or 10%, below this time last year.
U.S. oil rigs fell by one to 545 this week, their lowest level since April 2022, while gas rigs fell six to 124, their lowest since February 2022.
For the month, the total oil and gas count fell by 37 rigs in June after dropping by 44 in May, putting the total count down for a second month in a row for the first time since February.
For the quarter, the total oil and gas count fell by 81 rigs, the most since dropping by 463 in the second quarter of 2020.
Data provider Enverus, which publishes its own rig-count data, said drillers cut four rigs in the week to June 28, reducing the overall count to 736. That put the total count down about 18 rigs in the last month and down 13% year-over-year.
U.S. oil futures were down about 12% so far this year after gaining about 7% in 2022. U.S. gas futures have plunged about 37% so far this year after rising about 20% last year.
The massive drop in gas prices has already caused some exploration and production companies, including Chesapeake Energy Corp, Southwestern Energy Co and Comstock Resources Inc, to announce plans to reduce production by cutting some rigs – especially in the Haynesville shale in Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas.
The rig count fell by six to 44 in the Haynesville shale in Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas, the lowest since April 2021, and by one to 34 in Williston in North Dakota and Montana, the lowest since April 2022, according to Baker Hughes.
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