The U.S. active rig count rose this past week for the 13th time in 14 weeks, with the count rising by 11 to 522 through Friday. The U.S. gained seven oil rigs and four gas rigs.
One year ago, 809 total U.S. rigs were active. The latest weekly report from oilfield services company Baker Hughes said that 425 rigs were actively searching for oil, 96 sought natural gas and one was listed as miscellaneous.
While the year-over-year total rig count is down by 35.5 percent, the count has climbed by 29.2 percent since bottoming out at 404 this past May.
Among top oil-and-gas producing states, New Mexico gained three rigs and North Dakota gained two. Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Pennslyvania and West Virginia each gained one, while Texas lost one.
Canada gained 24 rigs total, with its count rising to 162. It gained seven oil rigs and 17 gas rigs. The country's active rigs are split 84 for oil and 78 for gas. One year ago, 70 oil rigs were active and 109 gas rigs were active.
Oil Price Update
The price of WTI Crude Oil ended Friday at $48.12 per barrel, up $3.51 from a week earlier and up $1.43 from a month earlier. Oil fell to $40.30 on Aug. 2 and rallied to $49.73 by Aug. 19 before starting another slump.
