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Environmental activists from the Duwamish Tribe protest the arrival of the Polar Pioneer, an oil drilling rig owned by Shell Oil, as it arrives on May 14, 2015 in Seattle, Washington.
The oil-rig count is a key proxy for US production levels and shale-industry investment. Robust output has undermined efforts by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting countries to lift prices by cutting output.
Last week, the oil-rig count rose for an 8th straight week, by eight to 617, the highest level since September 25. The gas rig count increased by five to 151. One miscellaneous rig was taken offline, and so the combined count increased by 12 to 768.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil is one of the worst performing commodities year-to-date, and last week saw its largest weekly decline since late-October. Ahead of the rig-count release, WTI futures for April delivery were on pace for a 0.5% weekly gain.