The number of active drilling rigs in the United States dropped to 642 this week, down by 12 from the previous week and by 120 from one year ago, according to the weekly data released Friday by Houston-based oilfield services company Baker Hughes.
These active drilling rigs included 520 oil rigs operating in U.S. oil fields, down by five from the previous week; 117 gas drilling rigs, down by six from last week; and five miscellaneous rigs, down by one from last week.
The rigs included 621 land drilling rigs, four inland water rigs, and 17 offshore drilling rigs.
Of them, 52 are directional drilling rigs, 572 are horizontal drilling rigs and 18 are vertical drilling rigs.
The Permian Basin in western Texas and eastern New Mexico has been the largest source of shale oil production growth in the United States, and an engine of supply growth outside the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in the past years.
