The number of drilling rigs in the United States continued to plummet in the latest count by Baker Hughes, the well services company.

There were 339 rigs at work in the U.S. in last Friday’s count, a drop of 35 from May 8, Kallanish Energy reports

A year ago, there were 987 rigs in the U.S.

It was the ninth straight week of declines in the rig count, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and low commodity prices.

The rig count has dipped by 453 in the last nine weeks, the Texas-based company reported.

The Baker Hughes count is considered a good indicator of future oil and gas wells that are being drilled and completed.

Baker Hughes said the number of oil rigs was 258, down 34 from the previous week’s 292, and natural gas rigs dropped by one, sinking to 79 from 80.

A year ago, the U.S. had 802 oil rigs and 185 gas rigs.

The number of rigs in Canada dropped by three from 26 to 23.

The number of gas rigs in Canada declined by three, from 19 to 16.

The number of oil rigs stayed at seven.

A year ago, Canada had 41 gas rigs and 22 oil rigs at work.

Rigs by Basin

Rigs by State

Source: Baker Hughes

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