The U.S. natural gas rig count climbed one unit to 150 for the week ended Friday (May 20), while Texas led a surge in oil drilling that lifted the combined U.S. tally 14 units higher to 728, according to the latest figures from Baker Hughes Co. (BKR).

rigs

Alongside the one natural gas-directed rig, 13 oil-directed rigs were added in the United States for the week. The 728 active U.S. rigs as of Friday compares with 455 rigs running in the year-earlier period, according to the BKR numbers, which are partly based on data from Enverus.

All of the net gains for the week were in land drilling; the Gulf of Mexico held steady at 17 rigs for the period. Thirteen horizontal rigs were added, along with one directional unit, while vertical rigs were unchanged at 25.

The Canadian rig count...