HOUSTON, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- The number of active drilling rigs in the United States stands at 589 this week, unchanged from the previous week but down by 34 from a year ago, according to the weekly data released Friday by Houston-based oilfield services company Baker Hughes.
These active drilling rigs include 482 oil rigs operating in the U.S. oil fields, the same as last week; 103 gas drilling rigs, up by one from last week; and four miscellaneous rigs, down by one from the previous week.
The rigs include 573 land drilling rigs, two inland water rigs, and 14 offshore drilling rigs.
Of them, 50 are directional drilling rigs, 525 are horizontal drilling rigs, and 14 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.
