Number of operating rigs drops by 4
HOUSTON – Oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. said the number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the United States this week declined by four to 838.
The Houston-based firm said Friday 640 rigs were seeking oil, 197 were exploring for natural gas and one was listed as miscellaneous.
A year ago, with oil prices about double the prices now, 1,931 rigs were active.
Among major oil- and gas-producing states, New Mexico gained one rig, Texas lost two rigs, and Arkansas, North Dakota and Oklahoma each lost one.
The rig counts stayed the same in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Alaska, California, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Utah and Wyoming.
The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981 and bottomed at 488 in 1999.