Led by a surge in rigs flooding into the Permian Basin, the U.S. rig count climbed 16 units to finish the week ended Friday (April 8) at 689, updated figures from Baker Hughes Co. (BKR) show.

rig count

Oil-directed rigs increased by 13 in the United States for the week, while three natural gas-directed units were also added. The combined U.S. rig count ended the week more than 250 units higher than the year-earlier tally of 432.

Land drilling increased by 18 units for the period, partially offset by a two-rig decline in the Gulf of Mexico. Eighteen horizontal units were added domestically, along with one vertical rig; total directional rigs fell by three, according to the BKR numbers, which are partly based on data from Enverus.

The Canadian rig count fell 13 units to end the week at...