Rig count declines in Oklahoma

Oklahoma's rig count fell by one to 62 this week, while the nationwide number of working rigs increased by the same amount, Baker Hughes reported Friday.

This week's national working rig count is 856, off 207 from the 1,063 that were drilling a year ago. The number of rigs drilling for oil increased to 712, an increase of two, while the number of rigs drilling for natural gas fell to 143, a decline of one. A miscellaneous rig is operating this week.

In Oklahoma, the count was 142 a year ago. The number of rigs working in the Can a Wood ford basin declined to 33, off by three.

The most active basins this week, Baker Hughes said, are the Permian in west Texas and southeast New Mexico at 421, the south Texas Eagle Ford at 60, the Williston at 55, the Haynesville at 52 and the Marcellus at 47.

ARDMORE Noble sets safety mark

Between October 2016 and December 2018, Noble Research Institute went more than 1.7 million hours with no loss-time injuries where employees had to miss work because they were hurt on the job.

Officials said that mark bettered its previous organizational record of 1.2 million hours, set from 2013 to 2016.

Employers who reach 1 million or more hours of no loss-time injuries are recognized by the National Safety Council, and reaching 1 million hours in an organization with 350 employees takes several years of consistent management, they said.

Noble, they continued, integrates safety into its employee culture by providing training and education to get employees committed to the issue, developing hazard recognition and reporting processes and effectively implementing its safety policy and procedures.

“Our work involves many different occupations that involve various hazards — from farm equipment to research tools,” Robert Williams, the institute's safety and risk manager, stated as part of the announcement.