US drilling rig count drops by 27 to 905

Oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. says the number of rigs drilling for oil and natural gas in the U.S. declined by 27 the week ending May 1 to 905 amid depressed oil prices.

Houston-based Baker Hughes said 679 rigs were drilling for oil and 222 for natural gas. Four were listed as miscellaneous. A year ago, 1,854 rigs were active.

Among major oil- and gas-producing states, Texas lost 13 rigs; Oklahoma lost seven; New Mexico and Pennsylvania were each down two; and Alaska, Arkansas, Kansas and Louisiana were each down one.

North Dakota and Wyoming each gained one rig. California, Colorado, Ohio, Utah and West Virginia were unchanged.

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

- Associated Press