Baker Hughes reported modest rise in the number of active oil and gas rigs in the United States this week. The total number of active oil and gas drilling rigs rose by 9 rigs, according to the report, with the number of active oil rigs increasing by 10 to reach 862 and the number of gas rigs decreasing by 1 to reach 197. The oil and gas rig count is now 112 up from this time last year, 103 of which is in oil rigs. WTI prices were trading up earlier on Friday as the crisis in oil-rich Venezuela deepens as opposition leader Juan Guaidó seeks to grab power from current president Nicolas Maduro, garnering him a backing from the United States to the ire of Maduro. Gains were capped, however, by the previous day’s EIA report that showed a major buildup in crude oil inventories for the week […]