*All key Middle East oil and gas producers have slashed the number of active drilling rigs operating in recent months, though for some the slump has been bigger than others.
*Collectively the region, excluding Iran for which reliable data is not available, saw the number of active drilling rigs fall by 31% from March’s near-record 375 to just 258 for August, according to Baker Hughes data. The drop-off in activity over the five months from March, when oil prices collapsed, ranged from a not-inconsiderable 14% (seven rigs) for Kuwait to a whopping 61% (45 rigs) for Iraq (see chart 1). (CONTINUED - 593 WORDS)
