US drilling rig count jumps 24 to 1,776

Oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. says the number of rigs actively drilling for oil and natural gas in the U.S. increased by 24 the week ending March 15 to 1,776.

The Houston-based company said in its weekly report that 1,341 rigs were actively drilling for oil and 431 for gas. Four were listed as miscellaneous. A year ago, Baker Hughes counted 1,984 working rigs.

Of the major oil- and gas-producing states, Louisiana gained eight rigs, Oklahoma seven, Texas three, New Mexico and Pennsylvania two each, and North Dakota and Wyoming one apiece. West Virginia was down one. Alaska, Arkansas, California and Colorado were unchanged.

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

—Associated Press