The U.S. natural gas rig count climbed one unit to 151 for the week ended Friday (Feb. 17), a period of generally minor adjustments to overall domestic upstream activity levels, updated numbers from Baker Hughes Co. (BKR) show.

rigs

The uptick in natural gas rigs partly offset a two-rig decline in domestic oil-directed drilling for the period. Land drilling went unchanged week/week, while the Gulf of Mexico saw its total fall one unit to 17, up from 12 in the year-ago period. Total directional units were down one domestically, while horizontal and vertical drilling totals were unchanged week/week.

The combined 760 active U.S. rigs as of Friday compares with 645 rigs running in the year-earlier period, according to the BKR numbers, which are based partly on data from...