U.S. Oil Rig Count Jumps Along With Crude Prices

The number of active drilling rigs in the United States last week rose by 7, bringing the total to 586 as oil prices remain relatively strong despite the fresh wave of Covid-19 cases brought by the new variant of the coronavirus. Last week’s count compared with a rig count rise of 3 for the previous week, which brought the total to 579. Baker Hughes reported the total active rig figure was 238 rigs higher than the rig count this time last year when the oil industry was just beginning to recover from the worst blows of the pandemic. Yet it…