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US rig count declines by 4 this week to 771

HOUSTON (AP) - Oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. says the number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. this week declined by four to 771.

Houston's Baker Hughes said Friday that 572 rigs were seeking oil and 199 explored for natural gas. A year ago, with oil prices about double the prices now, 1,925 rigs were active.

Among major oil- and gas-producing states, New Mexico lost five rigs, California and Wyoming each declined by two, and Louisiana and Oklahoma were down one apiece.

Colorado gained three rigs while Kansas, North Dakota and Texas increased by one each.

Alaska, Arkansas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah and West Virginia all were unchanged.

The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981 and bottomed at 488 in 1999.

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