The number of oil rigs in the U.S. increased for the seventh time in the past eight weeks, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes data on Friday.
The oil rig count in the country rose by four for the week ending March 16, the company said.
With that result, the number of oil rigs, which indicates the short-term change in the U.S.' oil industry, is now at 800.
The current level also shows approximately 27 percent increase in the oil rig count, which stood at 631 in the same period last year.
Despite the increase in the number of oil rigs, crude oil prices did not lose much of their daily gains on Friday.
International benchmark Brent crude traded at $66.16 per barrel with a 1.6 percent daily gain at 1430 EST (1830 GMT). American benchmark was at $62.30 a barrel around the same time with a 1.8 percent increase.
The U.S.' crude oil production also increased last week, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Crude
output in the country rose by 12,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 10.38
million bpd for the week ending March 9, the EIA data showed on
Wednesday.
This market the eighth weekly increase in the U.S.' crude oil production in the past nine weeks.
The
U.S.' crude oil production is expected to average 10.7 mbpd this year
and to reach 11.3 mbpd next year to surpass Russia, according to the
EIA's Short-Term Energy Outlook for March.
(Anadolu Agency)
