Baker Hughes said in its weekly release, the number of U.S. oil drilling rigs fell the most in a month.

The number of oil rigs exploring oil and natural gas in U.S. declined to 998 this week.

This week’s count is the lowest and never has it fallen down below 1,000 since September 2009.

According to the Energy Information Administration U.S. is pumping 9.2 million barrels a day this year which is the most since 1972.

The product isn’t slowing and the number of rigs operational is just misleading.

Baker Hughes count is putting total 760 rigs for drilling crude oil and 225 rigs were drilling for natural gas and the remaining three rigs are listed as miscellaneous.

Last year total number of active rigs was 1,831.

The number of rigs declined in Texas is 29, New Mexico by 4, Oklahoma 5 rigs, North Dakota 2 rigs, Colorado, Ohio and Wyoming are down by one rig from the last week’s number of active rigs.

Arkansas and Kansas each added a rig; California, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Alaska, Utah and West Virginia, the number of rigs remain unchanged.

The largest number of rigs which were active was in the year 1981 with the total 4,530 rigs working and the lowest number of rigs was active in the year 1999, with the count 488.

Tensions with Iran and decline in drilling have increased the oil prices where the benchmark crude closed for $50 per barrel. This is for the first time since February.

Bill Herbert, an analyst at energy investment bank Simmons & Company International said, “There are expectations of a production deceleration in the U.S. as a result of the implosion of drilling activity.”

International benchmark Brent crude rose to $1.30 to $57.87 in European trading, and U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude rose to 85 cents making it $54.16 in the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The Friday’s oil price hike was also due to growing demand for oil domestically and abroad.