Houston [US], July 29: The number of active drilling rigs in the United States dropped to 664 this week, down by five from the previous week and by 103 from last year, according to the weekly data released Friday by Houston-based oilfield services company Baker Hughes.
These active drilling rigs included 529 oil rigs operating in the U.S. oil fields, down by one from the previous week; 128 gas drilling rigs, down by three from last week; and seven miscellaneous rigs, down by one from last week.
The rigs included 640 land drilling rigs, five inland water rigs, and 19 offshore drilling rigs.
Of them, 53 are directional drilling rigs, 592 are horizontal drilling rigs and 19 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.
Source: Xinhua
