HOUSTON – The number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. increased by 10 this week to 1,003.
At this time a year ago there were 839 active rigs.
Houston oilfield services company Baker Hughes reported Friday that 808 rigs drilled for oil this week and 194 for gas. One was listed as miscellaneous.
Among major oil- and gas-producing states, Oklahoma added five rigs. New Mexico tacked on three, while Kansas and Texas each gained two. North Dakota, Ohio, Utah and West Virginia increased by one each.
Louisiana lost two rigs, while Alaska, Colorado, Pennsylvania and Wyoming dropped one each.
Arkansas and California were unchanged.
The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981. It bottomed out in May of 2016 at 404.