US drilling rigs drop by one to 1,799

Oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. says the number of rigs actively drilling for oil and natural gas in the U.S. fell by one the week ending Dec. 14 to 1,799.

Baker Hughes, based in Houston, said 1,381 rigs were drilling for oil and 416 for gas. Two were listed as miscellaneous. A year ago, Baker Hughes counted 2,019 rigs.

Of the major oil- and gas-producing states, New Mexico gained eight rigs, Alaska gained four and Colorado and North Dakota each gained one.

Louisiana lost six rigs, Texas lost five, Oklahoma lost three and Arkansas lost one. California, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Wyoming were unchanged.

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

—Associated Press