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HOUSTON (AP) — Oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. says the number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. increased by 23 this week to 1,792.
The Houston firm said in its weekly report Friday that 1,443 rigs were exploring for oil and 345 for gas. Four were listed as miscellaneous. A year ago there were 1,752 active rigs.
Of the major oil- and gas-producing states, Texas gained 20 rigs, California was up by five, North Dakota two, and Kansas, Louisiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Utah each gained one.
Alaska declined by three rigs, West Virginia was down two and Colorado and New Mexico lost one each. Arkansas and Wyoming were unchanged.
The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981 and bottomed at 488 in 1999.
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