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Four out of every five energy drilling permits filed in Louisiana is from the Shreveport office, the state Department of Natural Resources said.
The state is averaging close to 200 drilling permit approvals every month so far this year, DNR said. That compares to an average of 113 a month last year.
The number of rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas in the United States dropped by 6 this week to 1,951. But the number is up in Louisiana.
Of the rigs running nationwide, 1,550 were exploring for natural gas and 392 for oil, Houston-based Baker Hughes Inc. reported today. Nine were listed as miscellaneous.
A year ago, the rig count stood at 1,781.
Of the major oil- and gas-producing states, Colorado gained four rigs, Louisiana gained two and North Dakota gained one. Texas lost six, New Mexico lost four, Alaska lost two and Arkansas and California each lost one. Oklahoma and Wyoming were unchanged.
The report didn't track specific locations, but drillers are very busy in northwest Louisiana due to the massive Haynesville shale natural gas field.
Leo McDonald has been in the energy business in Shreveport for 50 years. He's currently making high-pressure valves for natural gas drilling.
Demand is so high that he's got two shifts running at his business in the Agurs industrial district just north of downtown Shreveport.
"We've never seen anything like this. This has taken everybody by surprise," McDonald said. "If you've got it nowadays, you can sell it. And we've got plenty of it."
Baker Hughes has tracked rig counts since 1944. The tally peaked at 4,530 in 1981, during the height of the oil boom. The industry posted several record lows in 1999, bottoming out at 488.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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