US drillers add oil rigs for 19th straight week, though pace slows

US drillers brought rigs online for the 19th consecutive week even though the pace at at which they were added slowed for the second week in a row.

Drillers added two oil rigs in the week ended May 26, bringing the total number of operational rigs to 722, oilfield services company Baker Hughes said on Friday. That is more than double the 316 rigs that were drilling for oil at this time a year ago.

Over the month, drillers added 35 rigs, the slowest pace of growth since November.

Analysts had warned that oil price recovery could be undercut by rising US production, in response to an output cut agreement by Opec and non-members like Russia in 2016 to bolster crude prices.

Saudi Arabia-led Opec and Russia this week extended their agreement to cut output to the first quarter of 2018 in an attempt to curb a three-year oil supply glut.

Oil prices were little changed, with West Texas Intermediate up 1.2 per cent to $49.50 a barrel, while Brent crude, the global oil marker, rose 0.9 per cent to $51.90 a barrel.

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