U.S. Gas Rigs Up 28

The number of U.S. rigs searching for natural gas in the U.S. rose by 28 to 764, an all-time record high, while the number of rigs searching for oil fell by three to 210 during the week ending July 28, according to oil services firm Baker Hughes Inc. The number of rigs exploring for oil and gas in the United States rose by 25 to 975, compared with 602 active rigs in the U.S. in the year ago period.

In Canada, the number of rigs searching for oil and gas rose 13 to 319, compared with 239 a year ago. Meanwhile, in the Gulf of Mexico, the rig count rose five to 156, compared with 106 in the prior year.

The number of U.S. rigs exploring on land reached 795, while the number of rigs operating offshore was at 161. The number of rigs in inland water was at 19. There was one miscellaneous rig, unchanged from last week. There were 245 U.S. rigs exploring directionally, up six; 56 exploring horizontally, down two; and 674 exploring vertically, up 21. The states with the largest changes in their rig count were Oklahoma, which rose 22 to 108; and Louisiana, which rose by 11 to 218.