U.S. Rig Count Steady at 603 for Second Week as Brent Crude Tops $116

The U.S. active oil and gas rig count held at 603 for a second straight week, Baker Hughes reported Friday, up 53 from a year ago, as crude prices climbed. Oil rigs rose by 1 to 460, gas rigs fell by 1 to 132, and miscellaneous rigs were unchanged at 11. Brent traded at $116.52 per barrel (+2.96%), up $11 from last week, and WTI at $102.88 (+3.43%), up nearly $5 week over week, ahead of the data release. The Permian Basin count was flat at 272, 22 above year-ago levels, while the Eagle Ford gained 2 to 51. EIA data showed U.S. crude production averaged 13.269 million bpd in the week ending October 16, down from 13.679 million bpd the prior week and 360,000 bpd lower year over year. Primary Vision's frac spread count fell by 4 to 199, its first decline in six weeks.