HOUSTON – The number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. increased by eight this week to 1,021.
At this time a year ago there were 870 active rigs.
Houston oilfield services company Baker Hughes reported Friday that 825 rigs drilled for oil this week and 195 for gas. One was listed as miscellaneous.
Among major oil- and gas-producing states, Oklahoma added six rigs, Texas gained four, North Dakota added three, Louisiana and Ohio each gained two and California added one.
Alaska and New Mexico each declined by three, Wyoming lost two and Colorado, Kansas and Pennsylvania each declined by one.
Arkansas, Utah and West Virginia were unchanged.
The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981. It bottomed out in May of 2016 at 404.