HOUSTON, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The number of active drilling rigs in the United States decreased by 44 to 728 this week, down by 278 year on year, according to the weekly data released Friday by Houston-based oilfield services company Baker Hughes.
These active drilling rigs included 624 oil rigs operating in the U.S. oil fields, down by 40 from the previous week; 102 gas drilling rigs, down by four; and two miscellaneous rigs, unchanged from last week.
The 728 rigs included 710 land drilling rigs, down by 41 from the previous week, 18 offshore drilling rigs, down by one rig. There was no inland waters drilling rig this week, down by two from last week.
Of them, 47 are directional drilling rigs, 653 are horizontal drilling rigs and 28 are vertical drilling rigs.
During the week, the number of drilling rigs decreased the most by 29 in the state of Texas to 368 rigs.
By far, the Permian Basin in western Texas and eastern New Mexico has been the largest source of shale oil production growth in the United States, having become an engine of supply growth outside the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in the past years.
