A continued slump in the number of oil and gas drilling rigs was reported by Baker Hughes Co. in its weekly rig count released Friday.
The nationwide count slipped by one to 554 rigs while Oklahoma’s count fell as well. The number of rigs in Oklahoma dropped two leaving 47 active rigs. It compared to the 35 rigs reported one year ago.
The U.S. count decline included a drop of one oil rig, leaving 438 active in the various plays across the nation. The gas rig count fell by two to 111 while there was a gain of two miscellaneous rigs for a total of 5. The U.S. count is down 34 from last year’s count at this time of 588. The decline included a loss of 47 oil rigs but a gain of 13 gas rigs while there was no change in the miscellaneous rigs.
The U.S. offshore rig count expanded by four to 14.
Only four states saw increased rig activity, New Mexico, Louisiana, Colorado and Wyoming. New Mexico gained two to reach 92 while Louisiana’s count grew one to 32. Colorado’s count grew by one for a total of 9 rigs and Wyoming’s rig count jumped by two to 23.
Texas saw a drop of four to 258 rigs and North Dakota, normally unchanged in weekly updates, saw its count drop by one to 29 rigs. The Red Top Rig Report published in Wichita, Kansas showed the state’s rig count fell by one, leaving a total of 11 working rigs. Ohio was unchanged at 18 and Pennsylvania remained at 18. Utah’s count dropped by one to 9 rigs. West Virginia stayed at 7 rigs. Alaska saw no change in its numbers with a total of 10 rigs. California continued with 6 active rigs.
