US rig count drops by 14 to new all-time low of 450

Rig count drops in Canada to 49 from 55

The weekly rig count by Baker Hughes shows a drop in the number of rigs searching for oil and gas in the US and Canada last week.  BP photo.

HOUSTON _ On Friday, oilfield services giant Baker Hughes reported another drop in the number of rigs exploring for oil and gas in the United States and Canada last week.

In the US, there were 14 fewer rigs reported, with the number of rigs searching for oil down by 10 to 362 and 88 rigs seeking gas, four fewer than recorded last week.

Among major oil and gas producing states, Texas lost the most rigs, with five fewer that the previous week.  This week, the number of rigs is Texas is 204.  Louisiana also took a hit in the number of rigs with a reduction of four.

California, North Dakota and Oklahoma all were down by two rigs and Alaska, Kansas and Pennsylvania all recorded one less rig.

States that gained in rigs were New Mexico with two more and Utah with one more operational rig.

Colorado, Ohio, West Virginia and Wyoming all reported no gains or losses.

This time last year there were 802 oil rigs and 222 gas rigs up and running in the United States.

In Canada, the number of oil rigs remained steady at 11, but the number of gas rigs dropped by six to 38.

A year ago today, there were 20 oil rigs and 80 gas rigs operating in Canada.

The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981. The previous low recorded in 1999 of 488 was passed on March 11, and has continued to dip.

On Friday morning, the price of oil dipped as investors were concerned about the the fate of a proposed deal for major oil-producing nations to reduce production.