A small uptick in Haynesville Shale activity marked a week of minor adjustments in the U.S. oil and gas patch, with the overall domestic rig count holding flat at 663 for the period ended Friday (March 18), according to updated figures from Baker Hughes Co. (BKR).

rig count

Increases of two natural gas-directed rigs and one miscellaneous unit offset a decline of three oil-directed rigs in the United States. The 663 active U.S. rigs as of Friday compare with 411 rigs running in the year-earlier period, according to the BKR numbers, which are based partly on data from Enverus.

Land drilling declined by one rig overall in the United States, while the Gulf of Mexico added one rig to raise its total to 12. Three directional rigs were added domestically, offsetting declines of two vertical rigs...