HOUSTON — The number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. decreased by four this week to 954.
A year ago, just 464 rigs were active.
Houston oilfield services company Baker Hughes said Friday that 765 rigs sought oil and 189 explored for natural gas this week.
Among major oil- and gas-producing states, Texas gained four rigs and Alaska increased by one.
Louisiana declined by five rigs, Oklahoma decreased by two and New Mexico and North Dakota were down by one apiece.
Arkansas, California, Colorado, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming were all unchanged.
The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981. It bottomed out in May of 2016 at 404.