Shale Explorers Slash Drilling to Decade-Low to Weather Crash

(Bloomberg) -- Shale explorers slashed U.S. oil drilling to the lowest level in more than a decade as they struggle to navigate a historic market crash that has pushed several into bankruptcy.

Explorers idled oil rigs for a ninth straight time this week, shrinking the active fleet by 34 to 258, according to Baker Hughes Co. data released Friday. The count has plunged from 683 just nine weeks ago. In the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico, 23 rigs were dropped, leaving 175 to work in the world’s biggest shale patch.

Oil prices have plummeted by more than half since the start of this year as much of the world remains shut down in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus, obliterating demand for fuel.

Baker Hughes’ weekly rig tallies have been a key oil-industry metric for decades because of the close correlation between drilling activity and crude production.

American crude production dropped to 11.6 million barrels a day last week, from a record level of 13.1 in March, according to government data.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.