U.S. weekly oil and gas rig count up by five

HOUSTON (AP) _ The number of rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas in the United States was up by five this week to 1,263. <br/><br/>Of the rigs running nationwide, 1,084 were exploring for gas,

Sunday, January 23rd 2005, 1:55 pm

By: News On 6

HOUSTON (AP) _ The number of rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas in the United States was up by five this week to 1,263.

Of the rigs running nationwide, 1,084 were exploring for gas, 177 were looking for oil and two were listed as miscellaneous, Houston-based Baker Hughes Inc. reported Friday.

A year ago, the rig count was 1,087.

Baker Hughes has kept track of the count since 1944. The tally peaked at 4,530 in 1981, during the height of the oil boom. Several record lows were set in 1999, bottoming out at 488.

Of the major oil- and gas-producing states, Texas gained eight rigs, Oklahoma gained five and Alaska gained two. Wyoming lost four rigs, California lost three and New Mexico lost one. The number of rigs in Colorado and Louisiana was unchanged.