The U.S. natural gas rig count fell four units to 152 for the week ended Friday (Jan. 6), while a three-rig decline in the oil patch helped lower the overall domestic tally seven rigs to 772, updated numbers from oilfield services provider Baker Hughes Co. (BKR) show.

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Land drilling declined by eight rigs domestically for the period, while the Gulf of Mexico count rose one unit to end at 16. Declines included six horizontal rigs and one vertical rig, with directional drilling unchanged week/week.

The combined 772 active U.S. rigs as of Friday compares with 588 rigs running in the year-earlier period, according to the BKR numbers, which are based partly on data from Enverus.

The Canadian rig count rebounded to end the week at 189, a net increase of 105 rigs, with activity there...