*Despite the recent collapse in oil prices key GCC producers – Saudi Arabia, the UAE (Abu Dhabi) and Kuwait – have all retained, or even increased, their plans to raise output capacity. Latest rig count figures from services firm Baker Hughes show that as of March none of the key GCC producers have let up recent near-record drilling activity. Taken as a whole, the GCC rig count averaged a record 300 for Q1 2020, toppling previous 2015-16 highs (see chart 1). On a monthly basis, February’s 302 and March’s 301 were just behind the monthly record 305 set in October 2016 – the only previous month above 300.