The number of active drilling rigs in the United States dropped to 654 this week, down by five from the previous week and by 109 from this time last year, according to the weekly data released Friday by Houston-based oilfield services company Baker Hughes.
These active drilling rigs included 525 oil rigs operating in U.S. oil fields, unchanged from the previous week; 123 gas drilling rigs, down by five from last week; and six miscellaneous rigs, the same as last week.
The rigs included 632 land drilling rigs, four inland water rigs, and 18 offshore drilling rigs.
Of them, 53 are directional drilling rigs, 579 are horizontal drilling rigs and 22 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.