Drillers added 11 oil rigs in the week to 1 July, bringing the total rig count up to 341, compared with 640 a year ago, energy services firm Baker Hughes said.
Before this week, drillers added oil rigs in only four out of 25 weeks this year, cutting on average eight rigs per week for a total of 206. Last year, they cut 18 rigs per week on average for a total of 963, the biggest decline since at least 1988.
