The nation lost more rigs in the oil and gas industry in the past week while the losses leveled off in Oklahoma, according to the latest data from Baker Hughes Company of Houston, Texas.
Oklahoma remained at 73 but was still far below the count of 146 from one year ago. The U.S. lost 12 more rigs, reaching a level of 502 compared to the 1,267 rigs active a year ago. That’s a loss of 765 rigs in the past year, reflective of the serious impact of the energy downturn that has resulted in tens of thousands of jobs also lost in the oil and gas industry.
Over the past week, the nation’s rig loss included 13 more oil rigs, reaching a level of 400. The number of gas rigs actually grew in the past week to reach 102. But the losses of oil rigs in the past year totaled 586 and the number of gas rigs declined 178.
The U.S. offshore count added two to reach 27 but it is still down 24 from a year ago. Canada’s count fell by 31 to reach 175 working rigs. The decline included 26 oil rigs and 5 gas rigs. Over the year, Canada’s rig count is down 155 from the 330 reported one year ago.
Several area states remained steady including Colorado at 19, Kansas at 7, and North Dakota at 36. New Mexico’s count fell by 3 to reach 18. Texas dropped by five to reach 231 compared to the 570 rigs a year ago.
Of the oil and gas plays, the Mississippian in Oklahoma and Kansas remained steady at 8 rigs. That compares to 47 a year ago. The Granite Wash in western Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle dropped by one to reach 9. A year ago, there were 34 in the Granite Wash. The Arkomoa and Ardmore Woodfords in the state have 6 active rigs, down one in the past week. The Eagle Ford in south Texas dropped 7 rigs over the past week to reach 47. A year ago, the Eagle Ford had 157 active rigs. The Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico remains the most active of all the oil plays in the U.S. It has 164 rigs, one less than a week ago . But a year ago, the Permian reported 335 active rigs.
