Texas loses rigs, 6 states gain in latest rig count

Texas leads oil-producing states with 538 rigs

Texas is losing drilling rigs as oil prices continue to drop, but a few oil-producing states actually gained rigs, according to the latest Baker Hughes rig count.

Baker Hughes has issued the rotary rig counts as a service to the petroleum industry since 1944, when Hughes Tool Company began weekly counts of U.S. and Canadian drilling activity.

Oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. says the number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. tumbled by 56 this week to 1,069 amid slumping oil prices.

Houston-based Baker Hughes said Friday 825 rigs were seeking oil and 242 exploring for natural gas. Two were listed as miscellaneous. A year ago, 1,803 rigs were active.

Among major oil- and gas-producing states, Texas lost 36 rigs and Louisiana 18. New Mexico declined by five, North Dakota and Ohio each dropped three and Arkansas and Kansas lost two apiece.

Alaska gained four rigs, Pennsylvania and West Virginia were up three, Colorado and Oklahoma two and California one. Utah and Wyoming were unchanged.

Drilling rigs by state:

538               Texas
138               Oklahoma
105               North Dakota
61                 New Mexico
100               Louisiana
39               Colorado
14                 California
12                 Alaska
15                 Kansas
35                Ohio
47                Pennsylvania
32                Wyoming

For an interactive rig count by basin, county, and state, click here.

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