Rig Count Rises in U.S. as OPEC Approaches Goal to Bust Oil Glut

(Bloomberg) -- Explorers pushed the U.S. rig count higher for another week just as OPEC nears “mission accomplished” for wiping out the global glut of oil.

U.S. working oil rigs rose by seven this week to 815, the highest since March 2015, according to data from Baker Hughes. The rig fleet has expanded in 10 of the past 12 weeks.

Less than 10 percent of the worldwide crude surplus remains after a concerted effort by OPEC and its partners to limit production while world demand climbs, according to the International Energy Agency. Since the start of last year, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia have been spearheading efforts to offset booming output by U.S. shale drillers.

“It is not for us to declare on behalf” of OPEC “that it is ‘mission accomplished,’ but if our outlook is accurate, it certainly looks very much like it,” the Paris-based IEA said on Friday.

Crude output in the U.S. rose by 65,000 barrels a day last week to 10.5 million, according to the Energy Information Administration.

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