HOUSTON – The number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. rose by seven this week to 908.
A year ago, 404 rigs were active.
Houston oilfield services company Baker Hughes said Friday that 722 rigs sought oil and 185 explored for natural gas this week. One was listed as miscellaneous.
Colorado added five rigs while Alaska, New Mexico, North Dakota and Oklahoma each gained one.
Texas lost one rig.
Arkansas, California, Kansas, Louisiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming were all unchanged.
The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981. It bottomed out last May at 404.