US drill rig count continues to rise as worldwide count appears ready to fall

Baker Hughes rig count data shows a sustained rise in oilfield drilling over the past year for the US. Despite strong geopolitical instability in large production regions, oil prices have fallen recently on the back of strong US domestic production and Japanese plans to restart nuclear reactors. This raises the question of whether can the US sustain the frac sand boom on lower oil and gas prices, and whether the rest of the world due a fall in rig counts as demand falters.