Another week of expansion in the oil patch, led by the Permian Basin, lifted the U.S. rig count five units higher to 533 for the week ended Friday, according to the latest figures published by Baker Hughes Co. (BKR).

shale rigs october 8

Natural gas-directed drilling went unchanged for the period, while the addition of five oil-directed rigs put the combined domestic tally at nearly double the 269 rigs active in the year-earlier period. 

Offsetting a two-rig decline in offshore drilling, land drilling increased by seven week/week. Horizontal rigs increased by nine, offsetting a four-rig decline in vertical units, according to the BKR numbers, which are based partly on data from Enverus.

The Canadian rig count climbed two units week/week to end at 167, up from 80 at this time last year. Four...