US drilling rig count up 9 to 1,771

Oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. says the number of rigs actively drilling for oil and natural gas in the U.S. increased by nine the week ending May 31 to 1,771.

The Houston-based company said in its weekly report that 1,410 rigs were drilling for oil and another 354 for gas. Seven were listed as miscellaneous. A year ago there were 1,980 active rigs.

Of the major oil- and gas-producing states, Texas gained three rigs while Colorado, Oklahoma and North Dakota each gained two. Alaska, New Mexico and Wyoming added one each.

Arkansas lost one rig last week, while the rig counts in California, Louisiana, Pennsylvania and West Virginia remained unchanged.

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

—Associated Press