U.S. rigs fall 9 to 1,922, Baker Hughes says

U.S. rigs fall 9 to 1,922, Baker Hughes says

LYNN DOAN and RICHARD STUBBE

HOUSTON (Bloomberg) -- Rigs targeting oil and natural gas in the U.S. declined by nine to 1,922, according to Baker Hughes Inc.

Oil rigs dropped by one to 1,591, data posted on the company’s website show. The gas count fell by eight to 330, the Houston-based field services company said.

Oil futures fell below $90/bbl this week for the first time in 17 months, threatening to slow growth in the U.S. rig count. The total has almost doubled from five years ago as producers improve technologies to reach crude and gas deposits in U.S. shale formations.

Oil production fell 30,000 bpd in the week ended Sept. 26 to 8.84 million after rising a week earlier to the highest level since 1986, Energy Information Administration data show. The agency forecast last month that output would increase to a 45-year high in 2015. Oil supplies dropped 1.36 MMbbl to 356.6 million last week.

West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery fell $1.36, or 1.5%, to $89.65/bbl at 12:32 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices dropped 13% last quarter, the most since June 2012.

U.S. gas stockpiles rose 112 Bcf last week to 3.1 trillion, according to the EIA. Supplies were 11% below the five-year average and 10.7% below year-earlier levels.

Natural gas for November delivery rose 7.2 cents, or 1.8%, to $4.004 per million British thermal units on the Nymex on Oct. 3, up 14% in the past year.