Amid some shuffling in rig numbers by type and basin, the overall U.S. drilling count went unchanged at 650 during the week ended Friday (March 4), according to the latest data from oilfield services provider Baker Hughes Co. (BKR).

rig count

A gain of three natural gas-directed rigs offset a decline of three oil-directed rigs for the period. The 650 active U.S. rigs as of Friday remained well ahead of the 403 rigs running in the year-earlier period, according to the BKR numbers, which are partly based on data from Enverus.

Total Gulf of Mexico rigs held flat at 12 for the period. Two horizontal rigs were added week/week, offsetting declines of one directional rig and one vertical unit.

In Canada, the rig count slid seven units to 217 for the week, up from 141 in the year-earlier...