Mubasher: Baker Hughes Oilfield Services on Friday reported an increase in the number of oil and gas rigs in the United States.
The week saw a rise by 29 rigs, with operational rigs reaching 551, up from 522 rigs last week, it said in a report.
This is the largest increase since November 2016, it added.
Despite the rise, oil prices were up by more than 2% on Friday, with Brent crude adding 2.18% to reach $55.33 per barrel, while US Nymex gained 2.11% to $53.2 pb by 18:15 GMT.
A meeting for members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), alongside some non-member states, is scheduled for next week to begin supervise the deal pertaining to reducing output by around 1.8 million barrels per day.
In its 30 November 2016 meeting, OPEC members agreed to trim production starting January 2017 in an attempt to boost oil prices.
