The U.S. natural gas rig count grew two units to 137 for the week ended Friday (March 18), a period marked by generally small adjustments to domestic drilling activity, the latest data from Baker Hughes Co. (BKR) show.

rig count

One miscellaneous unit was also added in the United States for the week, helping to offset a decline of three oil-directed rigs. The combined U.S. rig count finished unchanged at 663 as of Friday, versus 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 and one horizontal...