Fall in US rig count points to tough 2015

San Francisco

US OIL drillers laid down the most rigs in the fourth quarter since 2009. And things are about to get much worse.

The rig count fell by 93 in the three months through Dec 26, and lost another 17 last week, Baker Hughes Inc data show. About 200 more will be idled over the next quarter as US oil explorers make good on their promises to curb spending, according to Moody's Corp.

Drillers are already running the fewest rigs in nine months after a 46 per cent drop in US benchmark West Texas Intermediate oil in 2014, the steepest decline in six years and the second-worst since the commodity began trading in 1983. The price slipped below US$50 a barrel on Monday as US producers and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries remain in a standoff…