Texas declined by five rigs, West Virginia dropped three and Louisiana was down two.
HOUSTON (AP) - Oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. says the number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. was unchanged this week, holding at 1,931.
The Houston firm said Friday in its weekly report that 1,601 rigs were exploring for oil and 329 for gas. One was listed as miscellaneous. A year ago there were 1,761 active rigs.
Of the major oil- and gas-producing states, North Dakota gained four rigs, Oklahoma increased by two and California, Colorado and New Mexico each gained one.
Texas declined by five rigs, West Virginia dropped three and Louisiana was down two.
Alaska, Arkansas, Kansas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah and Wyoming all were unchanged.
The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981 and bottomed at 488 in 1999.