American Petroleum Institute sees quarterly increase in oil well drilling

The American Petroleum Institute (API) said the first quarter of 2017 saw an increase in oil wells drilled and finished over the same period in 2016. 

"In the first quarter of 2017 saw an increase of 35 percent compared to the first quarter of 2016. This is a drastic improvement from 2016 levels which saw a 59 percent decrease in total wells drilled and completed from the previous year," the API release said.

“Today’s report shows evidence that we could be turning a corner when it comes oil and natural gas drilling,” Hazem Arafa, director of API’s statistics department, said in the April 7 release. “The increase in oil and natural gas drilling furthers the U.S. as the world leader in the production and refining of oil and natural gas and in the reduction of carbon emissions which are near 25-year lows. Moving forward, it’s important to put in place forward-looking policies that embrace America’s leadership in energy that has provided benefits for American consumers, American workers and the environment.”