（彭博社）美国页岩油运营商本周两个多月以来首次加大了天然气钻探力度，压低了发电厂燃料价格。

在全国范围内，寻找天然气的钻机数量增加了 8 座，达到 121 座。根据贝克休斯公司 (Baker Hughes Co.) 周五发布的数据，本周德克萨斯州南部 Eagle Ford 页岩油区的天然气钻机数量增加了一倍多，达到 5 座。自 3 月 17 日起该地区出现跳跃式增长。

数据公布后，美国基准天然气期货暴跌 2.5%，触及每百万英热单位 2.641 美元的盘中低点。

美国最大天然气生产商殷拓公司表示，随着勘探商推动更多管道和液化天然气设施向海外出口商品，预计今年剩余时间国内天然气市场将继续“极度波动”。

(Bloomberg) – Shale operators in the U.S. ramped up natural gas drilling this week for the first time in more than two months, pressuring prices for the power-plant fuel lower.

Nationwide, the number of rigs searching for gas rose by 8 to 121. Gas rigs in the Eagle Ford shale play in South Texas more than doubled this week to five, according to data released Friday by Baker Hughes Co. That’s the biggest weekly jump in the region since March 17.

Benchmark U.S. gas futures tumbled as much as 2.5% after the data was released, touching an intraday low of $2.641 per million British thermal units.

The domestic natural gas market is expected to remain “extremely volatile” for the rest of this year as explorers push for more pipelines and liquefied natural gas facilities to export the commodity overseas, according to EQT Corp., the biggest U.S. gas producer.