Baker Hughes Inc. Says the Number of Rigs Up Slightly

HOUSTON (AP) —Oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. says the number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. rose by three this week to 1,920.

The Houston firm said Friday in its weekly report 1,575 rigs were exploring for oil and 344 for gas. One was listed as miscellaneous. A year ago there were 1,775 active rigs.

Of the major oil- and gas-producing states, Kansas gained five rigs, Louisiana increased by four, Alaska and Arkansas each gained two and California, New Mexico and Ohio each gained one.

Texas lost five rigs, Oklahoma lost three, Colorado lost two and Pennsylvania and Wyoming each lost one. North Dakota, Utah and West Virginia were unchanged.

The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981 and bottomed at 488 in 1999.