Texas hosts 47% of US working drilling rigs

Working drilling rigs in the U.S. state of Texas numbered 812 as of last week, accounting for 47 percent of the national total, according to a survey released Tuesday. The figure, counted by oil field services company Baker Hughes, also means that the oil-rich Lone Star State hosts 24 percent of all drilling rigs at work across the world. Among the Texas rigs, 371 are in the Permian Basin in West Texas, and 222 are in the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas, according to a survey by the company. Texas is the second largest state and the biggest energy-producing state in the United States. Texas' oil production represents roughly 30 percent of the U.S. total, while its gas production accounts for over one quarter. Its daily oil production is expected to exceed 3 million barrels per day by the end of this year. In April, Texas -- were it a nation itself -- would have ranked as the 12th largest oil producer on earth, just ahead of Venezuela, and slightly behind Kuwait and Mexico, according to Forbes.