This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Houston • The number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. increased by 21 this week to 789.

A year ago, 476 rigs were active.

Houston oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. said Friday that 631 rigs sought oil and 157 explored for natural gas this week. One was listed as miscellaneous.

Oklahoma increased by 10 rigs, North Dakota added five, Texas gained four, Colorado and Utah were each up two, and Alaska gained one.

Wyoming lost two. Louisiana and New Mexico dropped one each.

Arkansas, California, Kansas, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia were all unchanged.

The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981. It bottomed out last May at 404.