U.S. Weekly Oil And Gas Rig Count Up By Six

HOUSTON (AP) -- The number of rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas in the United States increased by six this week to 1,801.<br/> <br/>Of the rigs running nationwide, 1,459 were exploring for

Friday, November 9th 2007, 1:04 pm

By: News On 6

HOUSTON (AP) -- The number of rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas in the United States increased by six this week to 1,801.

Of the rigs running nationwide, 1,459 were exploring for natural gas and 337 for oil, Houston-based Baker Hughes Inc. reported Friday. Five were listed as miscellaneous.

A year ago, the rig count stood at 1,693. Of the major oil- and gas-producing states, Texas gained six, Oklahoma gained five and Alaska and Colorado each gained two. Wyoming lost four rigs, California lost three and Louisiana lost two. New Mexico was unchanged.

Baker Hughes has tracked rig counts since 1944. The tally peaked at 4,530 in 1981, during the height of the oil boom. The industry posted several record lows in 1999, bottoming out at 488.