With gains spread across multiple drilling regions, including the Permian Basin and the Marcellus Shale, the U.S. rig count climbed five units to finish at 475 for the week ended Friday (July 2), according to the latest tally from Baker Hughes Co. (BKR).

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Four oil-directed rigs and one natural gas-directed rig were added in the United States for the week. The 475 active rigs as of Friday compares with 263 rigs running in the year-ago period, according to the BKR numbers, which are based in part on data from Enverus.

The U.S. rig count has been trending steadily upward since bottoming out at around 250 rigs in the second half of 2020, BKR data show.

Gulf of Mexico activity held flat week/week at 14 rigs. Eight horizontal units were added domestically, offsetting the departure...