The U.S. natural gas rig count climbed two units to finish at 159 for the week ended Friday (April 21), while gains in the oil patch saw the combined domestic drilling tally rise five units to 753, according to the latest numbers from Baker Hughes Co. (BKR).

rigs

Land drilling increased by five rigs domestically, with the Gulf of Mexico count unchanged week/week at 18. Domestic changes also included gains of four horizontal rigs and two directional units, partially offset by a one-rig decline in vertical drilling.

The combined 753 active U.S. rigs as of Friday compares with 695 rigs running in the year-earlier period, according to the BKR numbers, which are partly based on data from Enverus.

In Canada, total rigs were down six for the week to end at 105, versus 101 in the year-ago...