A week after the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) saw its rig count flatline, a partial recovery in offshore activity helped lift the overall U.S. drilling tally six units higher to 503 as of Friday, according to the latest data from Baker Hughes Co. (BKR).

shale count

Seven oil-directed rigs were added in the United States for the week, partially offset by a one-rig decrease in natural gas-directed drilling. Total GOM rigs rose to four overall from zero in the week-earlier period, while two rigs were added on land. The combined 503 active U.S. rigs as of Friday compares with 254 rigs running in the year-ago period, according to the BKR data, which is based in part on data provided by Enverus.

Five directional rigs were added domestically, along with three vertical units, partially offset by a net...