The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States rose substantially this week, bucking the recent downward trend, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday. The total rig count rose by 8 to 590 this week, compared to 641 rigs this same time last year. The number of oil rigs rose by 5 this week after staying the same in the three weeks prior. Oil rigs now stand at 488—down by 27 compared to this time last year. The number of gas rigs rose by 3 this week to 97, a loss of 24 active gas rigs from…
