HOUSTON, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- The number of rigs exploring and developing land resources in the United States is up more than 10 percent year-on-year, Baker Hughes said Tuesday.
The oil services company released its monthly rig count data for September, highlighting the number of rigs actively exploring for or developing oil and natural gas reserves.
The number of rigs in service onshore in the United States in September was 1,866, up from the 1,695 counted in September 2013.
U.S. oil production is at its highest since the late 1980s thanks in part to advances in exploiting reserves locked in shale formations.
A September report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, a division of the Energy Department, found the increase in drilling and improvements in drilling efficiency have led to more oil from U.S. shale.
The exponential rise in U.S. oil production has upset a market dynamic driven in the past by members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. More oil on the international market, coupled with anemic demand, has pushed oil prices to historic lows.
