NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--The number of rigs drilling for oil and natural gas in the U.S. fell this week as producers continued to rein in exploration and production amid tumbling energy prices.
The number of oil and gas rigs fell to 955, down 20 from the previous week, according to rig data from oil-field services company Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI). The number of gas rigs was 742, a drop of 18 rigs from last week, while the oil-rig count dropped to 202, a decrease of three rigs. The number of miscellaneous rigs increased by one to 11 rigs.
The number of gas rigs in use peaked at 1,606 in September.
Natural gas prices have plunged about 76% from summer highs amid robust production from U.S. onshore natural gas fields and shrinking demand. Large industrial consumers have scaled back gas use to cut costs during the recession. In response to falling gas prices, producers such as Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) and Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) have slashed their spending plans and rig counts to curb the flow of new gas supplies into the market.
Gas for May delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange was recently down 10.5 cents,or 3.08%, at $3.304 a million British thermal units.
-By Christine Buurma, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-2061; christine.buurma@dowjones.com