US rig count decreases by 2 this week to 950

The number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. decreased by two this week to 950.

A year ago, just 462 rigs were active.

Houston oilfield services company Baker Hughes said Friday that 764 rigs sought oil and 186 explored for natural gas this week.

Among major oil- and gas-producing states, Louisiana gained four rigs, California increased by two and North Dakota and Utah each gained one.

Oklahoma and Texas each declined by three, New Mexico fell by two and Alaska decreased by one.

Arkansas, Colorado, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Wyoming were all unchanged.

The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981. It bottomed out in May of 2016 at 404.