HOUSTON -- Oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. said Friday that the number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. this week declined by 29 to 809.
Houston-based Baker Hughes said 614 rigs were seeking oil and 195 explored for natural gas. A year ago, with oil prices about double the prices now, 1,922 rigs were active.
Among major oil- and gas-producing states, Oklahoma lost eight rigs, Texas declined by six, Louisiana and New Mexico each lost four, Colorado and Pennsylvania each lost three, Alaska declined by two and California and North Dakota each lost one.
Arkansas, Kansas, Ohio and West Virginia each gained one rig.
Utah and Wyoming were unchanged.
The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981 and bottomed at 488 in 1999.
All four of the major crude plays saw less activity, with the Permian Basin in West Texas losing seven oil rigs to 240.
"You're certainly seeing a right-sizing of the domestic oil industry, and that's where most of the pain has been felt," Matt Marietta, an analyst at Stephens Inc. in Houston, said Friday in a phone interview with Bloomberg News. "This is a step in the right direction."
Business on 10/03/2015