The number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. decreased by three this week to 936.
That exceeds the 694 rigs that were active this time a year ago. Houston oilfield services company Baker Hughes reported on Friday that 747 rigs were drilling for oil and 189 for natural gas this week.
Among oil- and gas-producing states, Wyoming gained three rigs, West Virginia increased by two and Louisiana, New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Texas each gained one. Colorado and Ohio each lost four rigs and Alaska, North Dakota and Utah each decreased by one. Arkansas, California and Oklahoma were unchanged.
The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981. It bottomed out in May of 2016 at 404.
