HOUSTON, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- Globally, the number of rigs deployed for oil and gas exploration is down 16 percent from last November, oil services company Baker Hughes reported.
For November, Baker Hughes, in its much watched monthly report, shows 1,109 rigs deployed in November worldwide. That's down a fraction of a percent from the number recorded in October, but down 215 from November 2014.
Last November, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries vowed to keep production steady even as signs emerged that crude oil was trading in a bear market. Last week, OPEC showed signs of division, but left its output policies largely in place, adding weight to expectations that prices will be lower for longer.
During last year's price collapse, energy consultant group Wood Mackenzie expected most U.S. producers would be able to adapt to a lower price environment. In a November 2014 report, Wood Mackenzie found prices near $70 for West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. crude oil benchmark price, are a threshold level for shale.
WTI started trading Monday below $40 per barrel.
Baker Hughes reported an average U.S. rig count for November of 750, down 31 from October and 1,165, or 60 percent, lower than November 2014.
Rigs counts serve as a barometer for the health of the upstream, or exploration and production, side of the energy sector.
