The U.S. natural gas rig count held steady at 151 during the week ended Friday (June 10), while an uptick in oil-directed drilling lifted the combined U.S. tally six units to 733, updated numbers from Baker Hughes Co. (BKR) show.

rigs

Domestically, gains of five land-directed rigs and two rigs in inland waters were partially offset by a one-rig decline in the Gulf of Mexico. Directional, horizontal and vertical rig totals each increased by two.

The combined 733 active U.S. rigs as of Friday compares with 461 rigs running in the year-earlier period, according to the BKR numbers, which are partly based on data from Enverus.

The Canadian rig count, meanwhile, surged 24 units higher to reach 141 for the week, up from 93 in the year-earlier period. Gains there included 22 oil-directed...