US energy firms this week added rigs for a second week in a row for the first time since July, energy services firm Baker Hughes said in its report on Friday.
The total oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, rose by four to 595 in the week to September 18, its highest since May 2024.
Baker Hughes said this week’s increase puts the total rig count up 53 rigs, or 10% above this time last year.
Baker Hughes said oil rigs rose by two to 452 this week, their highest since August, while gas rigs rose by two to 134, their highest since February 2026, and other miscellaneous rigs held at nine.
The oil and gas rig count declined by 7% in 2025, 5% in 2024, and 20% in 2023 as lower US oil prices prompted energy firms to focus more on boosting shareholder returns and paying down debt rather than increasing output.
But with spot US West Texas Intermediate crude prices expected to rise in 2026 for the first time in four years due to supply disruptions from the Iran war, the US Energy Information Administration projected that crude output will rise from a record 13.7 million barrels per day in 2025 to 13.8 million bpd in 2026.
On the gas side, EIA projected output will jump from a record 107.6 billion cubic feet per day in 2025 to 111.7 bcfd in 2026 as demand for the fuel rises to produce electricity for power-hungry data centers and liquefied natural gas for export.
(Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Chris Reese and Nia Williams)