US drilling rig count drops by 34 to 954

Oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. says the number of rigs drilling for oil and natural gas in the U.S. declined by 34 the week ending April 17 to 954 amid depressed oil prices.

Houston-based Baker Hughes said 734 rigs were drilling for oil and 217 for natural gas. Three were listed as miscellaneous. A year ago, 1,831 rigs were active.

Among major oil- and gas-producing states, Texas plummeted by 15 rigs; Oklahoma was down six; North Dakota lost five; Wyoming was down four; and California, Kansas and Pennsylvania each dropped two. Alaska, Arkansas, Ohio and Utah declined by one each.

Louisiana rose by five while New Mexico gained two. Colorado and West Virginia were unchanged.

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

- Associated Press