US Now Has 931 Active Fossil Fuel Rigs

HOUSTON, TX— The United States now has 931 rigs for exploring oil and natural gas, a large jump over the 653 rigs that were active this time a year ago.

The boom of natural gas production in recent years has given the country 184 rigs, according to Houston oilfield services company Baker Hughes. Another 747 rigs are for oil drilling.

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.

Photo by David McNew/Getty Images