London — US oil and gas exploration and production companies are paying more to hire drilling rigs as the number of rigs still idle after the slump declines. Drilling costs were up by 8% in June 2017 compared with their recent low in November 2016, according to preliminary data from the US Bureau of Labour Statistics published on Thursday. The rise in drilling costs has barely started to reverse the previous 34% decline reported between March 2014 and November 2016, but it does mark an important turning point in the oilfield services costs cycle. Drilling costs have been rising year on year since March and in June were almost 3% higher than in the corresponding month a year earlier. Services costs are cyclical and follow changes in the rig count with a lag of a few months, but so far cost increases have been very modest compared with the resurgence in drilling activity. The number of active rigs has more than doubled over the last year, according to oilfield services company Baker H...
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