US rig count rises by 1 to 931

The number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. rose by one this week to 931.

That exceeds the 653 rigs that were active this time a year ago.

Houston oilfield services company Baker Hughes reported on Friday that 747 rigs were drilling for oil and 184 for natural gas this week.

Among oil- and gas-producing states, New Mexico gained four rigs, and North Dakota added one. Texas and Wyoming each lost two rigs, and Oklahoma lost one.

Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah and West Virginia were unchanged.

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