US energy firms this week reduced the number of oil rigs operating for a fourth week in a row, putting the rig count down for an eighth consecutive month as producers follow through on plans to cut spending on new drilling and completions.

Drillers cut three oil rigs in the week to July 26, bringing the total count down to 776, the lowest since February 2018, General Electric Co’s Baker Hughes energy services firm said in its closely followed report.

That compares with 861 rigs operating during the same week a year ago.

More than half the total US oil rigs are in the Permian basin in West Texas and eastern New Mexico, where active units increased by three this week to 443 despite the national rig decline. The Permian is the biggest US shale oil play.

For the month, the rig count dropped by 17, its biggest decline since March. That put the count down for an eighth month in a row, its longest losing streak since May 2016 when the number of active rigs fell for a record nine consecutive months, according to Baker Hughes data going back to 1987.

The rig count, an early indicator of future output, has declined over the past eight months as independent exploration and production companies cut spending on new drilling as they focus more on earnings growth instead of increased output.

Total US crude output, however, is still expected to rise to a record 12.36 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2019, topping the current annual all-time high of 10.96 mbpd in 2018, according to US Energy Information Administration (EIA) projections.