Declines in the oil patch drove the combined U.S. rig count five units lower to 682 for the week ended Friday (June 23), while the natural gas drilling tally held flat at 130, the latest figures from Baker Hughes Co. (BKR) show.

A six-rig decline in domestic oil-directed drilling was partially offset by a net increase of one miscellaneous rig. Land drilling declined by four rigs, while the Gulf of Mexico count dropped one rig to fall to 18, but still up from 15 in the year-earlier period. Directional and horizontal drilling totals each declined by two, with vertical drilling down one week/week.

The combined 682 active U.S. rigs as of Friday lags the 753 rigs running in the year-earlier period, according to the BKR numbers, which are partly based on data from Enverus.

The...