An oil-focused slowdown, including in the mighty Permian Basin, sent the U.S. rig count five units lower to 659 for the week ending Friday (Aug. 4), according to the latest tally by Baker Hughes Co. (BKR).

Total U.S. natural gas-directed rigs finished the week unchanged at 128. However, four oil-directed rigs and one miscellaneous rig exited the patch in the United States for the period. Land drilling was down five domestically, with total offshore rigs unchanged at 19. A decrease of seven horizontal rigs was partially offset by the addition of two vertical units, according to the BKR numbers, which are based partly on data from Enverus.

The combined 659 active U.S. rigs as of Friday compares with 764 rigs running in the year-earlier period.

Canada’s rig count also fell by...