HOUSTON, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- The number of active drilling rigs in the United States increased by five to 397 rigs this week, down by 393 year on year, according to the weekly data released Friday by Houston-based oilfield services company Baker Hughes.
These active drilling rigs included 306 oil rigs operating in the U.S. oil fields, up by seven from the previous week; 90 gas drilling rigs, down by two from the previous week; and one miscellaneous rigs, unchanged from last week.
The 397 rigs included 379 land drilling rigs, up by four from the previous week; 17 offshore drilling rigs, up by one from last week; and one inland water drilling rig, unchanged from last week.
Of them, 18 are directional drilling rigs, 356 are horizontal drilling rigs and 23 are vertical drilling rigs.
During the week, the state of Texas added the most by four rigs, reaching 193 rigs in total.
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.
The United States has been a world important oil producer in the past years with the help of its shale oil production growth. Meanwhile, China is one of the biggest oil consumers of the world. Enditem
