Number of active U.S. drilling down this week

HOUSTON, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The number of active drilling rigs in the United States stood at 584 this week, down by five from the previous week and 35 from last year, according to the weekly data released on Friday by Houston-based oilfield services company Baker Hughes.

These active drilling rigs included 480 oil rigs operating in the U.S. oil fields, down by two from the previous week, 100 gas drilling rigs, down by three from last week, and four miscellaneous rigs, the same as the previous week.

The rigs included 568 land drilling rigs, two inland water rigs, and 14 offshore drilling rigs.

Of them, 49 are directional drilling rigs, 522 are horizontal drilling rigs and 13 are vertical drilling rigs.

So 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.