The U.S. natural gas drilling count rose three units to 117 for the period ending Wednesday (Nov. 22) as the Haynesville and Marcellus shales picked up rigs, Baker Hughes Co. (BKR) data show.

Oil-directed drilling was unchanged at 500 rigs in the United States for the period, while the addition of one miscellaneous unit helped raise the combined domestic tally four rigs to 622. That’s down from 784 in the year-ago period.

Land drilling increased by three rigs versus the week-earlier period, with the Gulf of Mexico adding two rigs to raise its total to 19. Partially offsetting was the departure of one rig from inland waters, according to the BKR numbers, which are partly based on data from Enverus.

Domestic drilling gains for the period included three directional rigs and...