The total number of active oil and gas drilling rigs in the United States was unchanged this week, according to new data published by Baker Hughes on Friday. The total U.S. rig count stood at 588, up 52 from the same time last year. The weekly Baker Hughes survey, published every Friday since 1944, is closely watched as an early, if imperfect, indicator of where drilling activity—and, with a lag, future oil and gas output—may be heading.

The number of active oil rigs fell by 5, dropping to 447 during the latest reporting period. That figure remains 35 above year-ago levels. Gas rigs rose by 5 to 132, which is 13 more than at this time last year, while miscellaneous rigs held steady at 9. The divergence between oil and gas rigs comes as U.S. natural gas production sits near record highs, supported in recent years by growing LNG export capacity along the Gulf Coast.

The latest data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed that weekly U.S. crude oil production rose during the week ending August 21 (EIA data). U.S. crude production averaged 13.843 million barrels per day during the reporting period, up from 13.830 million bpd the previous week and up 461,000 bpd from a year ago—a level near the record highs the United States has posted in recent years.

Primary Vision's Frac Spread Count, an estimate of the number of crews completing wells, fell by 9 in the week ending August 21 to 184 crews, adding to a loss of 3 crews in the prior week.

By basin, the number of active drilling rigs in the Permian Basin was unchanged during the reporting period at 267, which is 12 rigs above year-ago levels. The Eagle Ford count also held steady at 50, an increase of 11 compared with the same time last year.

Oil prices were lower on Friday, with Brent crude trading at $89.3594.23 (-0.39%) per barrel, roughly $5 per barrel below levels seen a week earlier. WTI was also down on the day at $83.21 (-0.38%).

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com