The US drilling rig count rose 3 units to 978 rigs working during the week ended Feb. 23, data from Baker Hughes indicate. This total is up 224 units from a year ago.
Offshore units were down 1 unit from last week with 17 rigs working in the Gulf of Mexico. A total of 959 rigs were drilling on land, up 3 from last week. The number of rigs drilling in inland waters was up 1 unit to 2.
Rigs targeting oil were up 1 unit to 799 and were also up from the 602 rigs drilling for oil this week a year ago. Gas-targeted rigs were up 2 units to reach 179 units. This time a year ago, 151 units were drilling for gas.
Among the major oil and gas-producing states, Texas saw the largest increase in rigs week over week with a 3-unit gain to reach 482 rigs working. With an increase of 2 units, New Mexico saw the second-largest increase of the week with a total of 87 rigs running.
Gaining 1 rig each were Louisiana, 60; North Dakota, 49; Colorado, 33; Wyoming, 31; and Ohio, 22.
Oklahoma was down 2 units, falling to 121 rigs running. Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Kansas each lost 1 unit to 39, 61, and 0 rigs running, respectively.
Four states remained unchanged, namely California, 14; Utah, 10; Alaska, 9; and Arkansas, 0.
Canada lost 12 rigs to 306 from a week ago. There are 35 fewer rigs working than this week a year ago. Oil-directed rigs dropped 9 units this week to 209, while those targeting gas fell 3 units to 97.
