The count for oil increased to 413 rigs from the previous week's 407, according to data from energy services company Baker Hughes (BKR). The tally for gas dropped by one to 129, while miscellaneous rigs count was unchanged at seven.

The US had 482 oil, 102 gas and five miscellaneous rigs in operation a year earlier. Among US states, Louisiana added four rigs for the week, while New Mexico added one.

Across North America, the oil and gas rig count jumped to 740 from last week's 732, with Canada's tally up by three at 191, the data showed.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 0.6% at $60.05 a barrel in Friday late-afternoon trade, while Brent rose 0.7% to $63.70, both extending their rallies into a third consecutive day. Both benchmarks were on track to post back-to-back weekly gains, with WTI last up 2.6% and Brent advancing 0.8% for the week.

"Stalling negotiations over the Russia-Ukraine conflict, attacks on Russian oil infrastructure, and escalating tensions between the US and Venezuela continued to support prices, but a looming oversupply scenario appears to be base case into 2026," RBC Capital Markets analyst Scott Hanold said in a note e-mailed Friday.

High-level talks between the US and Russia this week over the Ukraine war ended without a breakthrough, according to major news outlets.

Russian President Vladimir Putin made a fresh warning that Moscow will seize Ukraine's eastern Donbas region unless Ukrainian troops withdraw from that area, rejecting any compromise over how to end the war, news outlets reported. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has reportedly ruled out ceding area.

Recently, eight members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies -- collectively known as the OPEC+ -- reaffirmed their Nov. 2 decision to pause production hikes in the first quarter of 2026, as widely expected, citing "seasonality."

Last month, the International Energy Agency raised its global oil supply growth estimates for 2025 and 2026 and warned that market balances appear "increasingly lopsided," with demand lagging.

Price: 49.42, Change: -1.19, Percent Change: -2.35

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