U.S. rig count up 6 this week to 1,771
HOUSTON (AP) – Oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. says the number of rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. increased by six this week to 1,771.
The Houston-based company said Friday in its weekly report that 1,413 rigs were exploring for oil and 353 for gas. Five were listed as miscellaneous. A year ago there were 1,971 active rigs.
Of the major oil- and gas-producing states, Louisiana gained three rigs, Texas and Colorado picked up two and California one. West Virginia dropped two rigs while Alaska, New Mexico and Wyoming each dropped one. The count for Arkansas, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania was unchanged from the previous week.
The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981 and bottomed at 488 in 1999.