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U.S. Oil Drilling Inches Up As Prices Fall

By Julianne Geiger - Oct 02, 2026

The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States fell this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday, with the total rig count in the US falling to 598, up 49 from this same time last year.

The number of active oil rigs rose by 1, reaching 456 during the latest reporting period, according to the data. This is 34 above this same time last year. The number of gas rigs fell by 2 to 133, which is 15 more than this time last year. Miscellaneous rigs stayed the same at 9.

The latest EIA data showed that weekly U.S. crude oil production rose during week ending September 25. US crude oil production averaged 13.955 million bpd during the reporting period, up from 13.939 million bpd last week but up 450,000 bpd from a year ago.

U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve Falls to Lowest Level Since 1982

By Charles Kennedy - Sep 28, 2026

Crude stocks in the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve stood at 284.6 million barrels for the week ending September 18, according to the Energy Information Administration, down from 285.0 million the week before and 406.0 million a year earlier. Department of Energy data show the reserve fell further the following week, to 283.8 million barrels, the lowest level since October 1982.

The reserve has now set a new multi-decade low twice this year, first falling below 300 million barrels, and below its 1983 level, in early August.

The current drawdown traces back to a 172 million-barrel release President Trump authorized in March, part of a coordinated 400 million-barrel release by 32 IEA member countries. Discharge began about a week later and was expected to take roughly 120 days, with the administration pledging to refill about 200 million barrels within a year at no cost to taxpayers.

Two different floors govern how far the reserve can fall. Federal law sets an operational minimum of 252.4 million barrels, while the generally accepted operational minimum is 250 to 300 million barrels on hand to pump and process oil efficiently, a level it is now testing.

Ben Cahill, an energy analyst at the Atlantic Council, has warned the releases carry diminishing returns: "at a certain point it becomes a self-defeating move, because releasing more oil into the market is overwhelmed by the perception that we're running out of options."

The decline lines up with what MST Marquee's Saul Kavonic called "living on an oil market credit card" earlier this month: Hormuz flows are still running at about a third of pre-war levels, and stock draws, not new supply, have kept Brent under $110 through most of the crisis.

About 133 million barrels of the drawdown are structured as swaps with Shell, Vitol and Trafigura, who are contracted to return 1.25 barrels for every one they took, with deliveries scheduled to begin early next year.

U.S. Oil, Gas Drilling Perks Up As Pressure Mounts

By Julianne Geiger - Sep 25, 2026

The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States rose this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday, with the total rig count in the US rising to 599, up 50 from this same time last year. It is the second

The number of active oil rigs rose by 3, reaching 455 during the latest reporting period, according to the data. This is 31 above this same time last year. The number of gas rigs rose by 1 to 135, which is 18 more than this time last year. Miscellaneous rigs stayed the same at 9.

The latest EIA data showed that weekly U.S. crude oil production fell for the second week in a row during week ending September 18. US crude oil production averaged 13.939 million bpd during the reporting period, down slightly from 13.944 million bpd last week but up 438,000 bpd from a year ago.

U.S. Oil, Gas Rig Count Creeps Up With Strong Prices

By Julianne Geiger - Sep 18, 2026

The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States rose this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday, with the total rig count in the US rising to 595, up 53 from this same time last year.

The number of active oil rigs rose by 2, reaching 452 during the latest reporting period, according to the data. This is 34 above this same time last year. The number of gas rigs also rose by 2 to 134, which is 16 more than this time last year. Miscellaneous rigs stayed the same at 9.

The latest EIA data showed that weekly U.S. crude oil production fell during the week ending September 11. US crude oil production averaged 13.944 million bpd during the reporting period, down slightly from 13.947 million bpd last week but up 462,000 bpd from a year ago.

U.S. Oil Rig Count Rises as Oil Tops $100

By Julianne Geiger - Sep 11, 2026,

The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States rose this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday, with the total rig count in the US rising to 591, up 52 from this same time last year.

The number of active oil rigs rose by 1, reaching 450 during the latest reporting period, according to the data. This is 34 above this same time last year. The number of gas rigs rose by 2 to 132, which is 14 more than this time last year. Miscellaneous rigs stayed the same at 9.

The latest EIA data showed that weekly U.S. crude oil production rose during the week ending September 4. US crude oil production averaged 13.947 million bpd during the reporting period, up from 13.862 million bpd last week and up 452,000 bpd from a year ago.

Pourquoi la reconstitution des réserves américaines de pétrole sera difficile ?

RFI le : 08/09/2026 Par : Marie-Pierre Olphand

En signant un accord d'approvisionnement en pétrole vénézuélien, Donald Trump rêve de pouvoir reconstituer les réserves stratégiques du pays à leur niveau maximal, afin notamment de faire baisser les prix à la pompe. Si Donald Trump cherche à remplir ses infrastructures de stockage, c'est parce qu'elles ont été mises à rude épreuve ces dernières années.


Ces quatre dernières années, les administrations Biden puis Trump ont débloqué des volumes plus importants que jamais pour réagir aux derniers chamboulements du marché de l'énergie : plus de 350 millions de barils ont été libérés, soit environ la moitié de la capacité des cavernes salines qui servent de stockage et sont situées sur la côte du golfe du Mexique.

Rien que pour compenser la fermeture du détroit d'Ormuz, les États-Unis ont relâché près de 130 millions de barils de pétrole selon le Wall Street Journal. Aujourd'hui les stocks ont atteint leur plus bas niveau depuis 1982. Même si les États-Unis peuvent se reposer sur leur abondante production de pétrole de schiste, les réserves de brut restent cruciales pour éponger les soubresauts du marché et réguler temporairement, au moins, les prix au niveau national.

Défaut de maintenance des réserves

La volonté du président américain de reconstituer rapidement ces réserves risque de ne pas suffire. Les 60 cavernes de sel situées sur la côte du golfe du Mexique ne sont pas toutes en bon état : il n'y a pas eu assez d'investissements et elles ont été trop sollicitées.

Les signes d'usure se multiplient : pannes d'équipement, fissures dans les canalisations, effondrement de puits. Plus d'une quinzaine de défaillances majeures d'équipement ont été recensées depuis 2013. Selon le ministère américain de l'Énergie, il faudrait environ 230 millions de dollars pour rattraper le retard qui a été pris par les travaux de maintenance. La fragilisation des cavernes fait qu'on ne peut pomper et injecter désormais qu'une quantité limitée de brut.

Les contraintes du pétrole vénézuélien

Le recours au pétrole vénézuélien ne fera pas de miracle. Les réserves nationales américaines créées en 1975 ont été pensées pour contenir principalement des pétroles légers et moyens, or le Venezuela produit du pétrole lourd. Le plus probable, selon le secrétaire d'État à l'énergie Chris Wright, est donc qu'il soit utilisé par les raffineurs américains qui, en échange, fourniraient du pétrole adapté aux réserves américaines.

Au-delà de ce processus, il faudrait que la production vénézuélienne, qui a été délaissée pendant des années, remonte, ce qui va de pair avec un retour de la confiance des investisseurs américains. Avec toutes ces contraintes, le retour des stocks à leur pleine capacité pourrait prendre des années.

U.S. Oil Rig Count Rises as Gas Rig Activity Declines

By Julianne Geiger - Sep 04, 2026

The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States stayed the same this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday, with the total rig count in the US staying at 588, up 51 from this same time last year.

The number of active oil rigs rose by 2, reaching 449 during the latest reporting period, according to the data. This is 35 above this same time last year. The number of gas rigs fell by 2 to 130, which is 12 more than this time last year. Miscellaneous rigs stayed the same at 9.

The latest EIA data showed that weekly U.S. crude oil production rose during the week ending August 28. US crude oil production averaged 13.862 million bpd during the reporting period, up from 13.843 million bpd last week and up 423,000 bpd from a year ago.

energy_isere a écrit : 23 août 2026, 11:49

EIA Predicts Record Annual USA Oil Output in 2026

GillesH38 a écrit : 31 août 2026, 07:37 La production américaine de pétrole c'est 1/8e de la production mondiale de pétrole qui est elle même environ 1/3 de la production de CO2, c'est donc 1/24e de la production mondiale de CO2, ça contribue donc à + 0,08 ppm par an et à environ 0,0008 °C par an.

U.S. Oil Rig Count Falls by 5 as Gas Rigs Rise

By Julianne Geiger - Aug 28, 2026

The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States stayed the same this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday, with the total rig count in the US staying at 588, up 52 from this same time last year.

The number of active oil rigs fell by 5, sinking to 447 during the latest reporting period, according to the data. This is 35 above this same time last year. The number of gas rigs rose by 5 to 132, which is 13 more than this time last year. Miscellaneous rigs stayed the same at 9.

The latest EIA data showed that weekly U.S. crude oil production rose during the week ending August 21. US crude oil production averaged 13.843 million bpd during the reporting period, up from 13.830 million bpd last week and up 461,000 bpd from a year ago.