US drilling rig count rises by 1 to 1,046

Associated Press

The number of rigs drilling for oil and natural gas in the U.S. increased by one the week ending May 18 to 1,046. At this time a year ago there were 901 active rigs. Houston oilfield services company Baker Hughes reported that 844 rigs drilled for oil (the same as the previous week) and 200 for natural gas (up one). Two were listed as miscellaneous (no change). Among major oil- and gas-producing states, New Mexico added three rigs and Texas tacked on two. Kansas gained one. Alaska, Colorado, Louisiana, North Dakota and Ohio each shed one rig. Arkansas, California, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming saw their rig levels unchanged this week. The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981. It bottomed out in May of 2016 at 404.