The number of active oil and natural gas rigs in the United States remained at last week’s count of 1,777 for the week ending January 24, 2014.  The count is some 1.4% above the year-ago level of 1,753.

The highest weekly rig count in the United States since 1940 was recorded on December 28, 1981, at 4,530; the lowest was recorded on April 23, 1999, at 488.

The number of rigs in Canada increased for the fourth consecutive week, up 4.4% from 565 last week to 590 this week to the highest count since March 1, 2013.  Despite the increase, the count is some 5.0% below the year-ago level of 621.

The highest rig count for Canada was 727 on February 3, 2006; the lowest was 29, recorded on April 24, 1992.

Source: Baker Hughes Inc.