Oil, Gas Rig Numbers Drop

The number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in North America fell by 62 during the week ending September 8, led by a 55 rig decrease in Canada and helped by a seven rig decrease in the United States, according to oil services firm Baker Hughes Inc. The number of rigs operating in Canada fell to 266, compared to 267 a year ago, while the number of rigs in the U.S. fell to 1012, compared with last year's 690, according to Baker Hughes. In the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, the number of rigs searching for oil and gas fell by six to 111. The number of U.S. rigs searching for gas fell by eight to 808, while the number of rigs searching for oil fell by one to 201. There were three miscellaneous rigs, up two from last week. The number of U.S. rigs exploring on land reached 841, while the number of rigs operating offshore rose by six to 151. The number of rigs in inland water rose by one to 20. There were 217 U.S. rigs exploring directionally, down 10; 59 exploring horizontally, down three; and 736 exploring vertically, up six. The states with the largest change in their rig count were Texas which dropped five to 388, and Oklahoma which fell by four to 111.