Regional oil and gas rig count drops

The number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the Denver-Julesburg Basin decreased by two this week and is one less than a year ago.

The figures come via the latest report from oil field services company Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI), a report that also showed a drop of 74 rigs nationwide this week.

The D.J. Basin, an oil and gas production area that includes parts of Northern Colorado, southeast Wyoming and the Nebraska panhandle, had 54 rigs operating this week, down from 56 a week ago. Colorado as a whole saw its rig count drop by one, from 65 to 64, though the state is still three rigs ahead of last year at this time.

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The national figures are a little more bleak as oil prices continue to languish below $50 per barrel. The United States’ rig count dropped from 1,750 to 1,676 this week, 101 fewer than last year.

The count in Texas dropped from 810 to 766 this week while other large oil producing states like Oklahoma and North Dakota also saw their counts drop, though not as significantly.