Permian saw 3-rig drop after a few weeks of gains E&Ps will likely stick to capex despite higher oil prices Houston — Receive daily email alerts, subscriber notes & personalize your experience. Register Now The US oil and natural gas rig count fell by six on the week to 1,077 Thursday, down nearly 13% from mid-November peak levels and continuing what has largely been a 19-week downward slip, according to the latest S&P Global Platts Analytics data. Decreases were seen in both oil and gas rig counts: oil rigs fell four to 857, while gas rigs were down two to 217. “Small rig fluctuations over short periods of time can be considered noise, but since the [mid-November] 2018 peak, US rig activity has decreased by 156 rigs,” Matt Andre, an analyst with S&P Global Platts Analytics, said. “Even with an uptick in oil prices, we expect producers for […]