US oil rig count tumbles to its lowest level in four years

The number of active oil rigs in the US dropped by 56 to 866 this week, according to oil services company Baker Hughes'weekly count of active North American oil and gas rigs.This is the 14th straight week the count has fallen. The oil rig count is at its lowest level since the week ending March 25, 2011.In the wake of falling oil prices, the number of US oil rigs has plummeted from 1,609 in October to just 922 last week, with dozens of rigs being taken offline every week for the last few months.We noted this morning that the path of oil rigs in the recent crash closely mirrors the pattern of natural gas wells during that boom and bust between 2000 and the financial crisis in 2008.Here's the chart of oil rig counts:SEE ALSO:RANKED: The 50 US state economies from worst to bestJoin the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: 14 things you didn't know your iPhone headphones could do
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