State rig count unchanged at 103 this week

Oklahoma's rig count remained at 103 this week as the number of working rigs nationally continued to fall, Baker Hughes reported Friday.

The national working rig count declined by four to 983, off 76 from the 1,059 that were drilling the same week a year ago. The number of rigs drilling for oil declined by five to 797, while the number of rigs drilling for natural gas increased by one, to 186.

In Oklahoma, 140 rigs were operating the same week a year ago. The number of rigs working in the Cana Woodford basin declined by three, to 45.

The most active fields this week, Baker Hughes said, were the Permian in west Texas and southeast New Mexico at 451, the south Texas Eagle Ford at 75, the Marcellus Shale at 62, the Williston at 57 and the Haynesville at 50.

Stopped-trains bill is signed into state law

A bill that would authorize local law officers to cite train owners or operators for blocking a road-rail intersection for longer than 10 minutes without good reason was signed Friday by Gov. Kevin Stitt.

The law authorizes local police, deputy sheriffs and highway patrol troopers to issue citations to train operators for lengthier intersection blockages, mirroring existing Oklahoma Corporation Commission rules.

It sets a maximum fine for violations at $1,000, requiring citations to be heard by an administrative law judge at the Corporation Commission. An operator could appeal a judge's finding to elected commissioners for consideration, the law states.