An uptick in North Dakota drilling activity helped send the U.S. rig count six units higher to finish at 569 during the abbreviated pre-Thanksgiving period ended Wednesday (Nov. 24), updated Baker Hughes Co. (BKR) data show.

rigs

All the net gains for U.S. drilling for the period occurred on land and in the oil patch. Total natural gas-directed rigs held steady at 102, while the Gulf of Mexico tally was similarly unchanged at 15. The combined 569 active U.S. rigs as of Wednesday compares with 320 rigs running in the year-earlier period, according to the BKR figures, which are partly based on data from Enverus.

The Canadian rig count added four units — all oil-directed — to end the period at 171, up from 102 a year ago. 

Broken down by major play, the Williston Basin led with a...