Decline

One rig returned to the Barnett Shale in the latest tally of active rigs compiled by Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI). Meanwhile, analysts at Jefferies are looking for a natural gas supply response.

Baker Hughes Inc. expects the North American rig count will “begin to stabilize” in the second half of this year, but things are expected to get worse before they get better, CEO Martin Craighead said Wednesday.

Baker Hughes Inc. expects the North American rig count will “begin to stabilize” in the second half of this year, but things are expected to get worse before they get better, CEO Martin Craighead said Wednesday.

April natural gas is set to open 3 cents higher Wednesday morning at $1.89 as traders begin to focus on a lessening of supply for 2016 although season-ending storage set a record. Overnight oil markets were mixed.

Nearly 40% of the proppant capacity in the U.S. drilling industry, an estimated 20 million tons of sand and resin-coated proppants (RCP), have been idled or reduced over the past year, leaving little wiggle room for growth this year, industry suppliers lamented during recent quarterly conference calls.

Rex Energy Corp. detailed a difficult fourth quarter late Tuesday in its year-end financial results, offering little information about financial initiatives to generate more liquidity and postponing the usual conference call.

Global energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, considered the largest source of man-made greenhouse gas emissions, remained flat in 2015 for the second year in a row, in part on the rising use of natural gas, according to an analysis of preliminary data by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The U.S. land rig count continued working lower in the latest tally from Baker Hughes Inc., released on Friday. It’s on its way to a trough of 375-400, according to one firm tracking the action.

The U.S. land rig count dropped by another 13 units for the week ending March 11 when there was an exodus of horizontal rigs that saw Texas leading declines among the states.