US energy firms this week added rigs for the fourth time in five weeks, energy services firm Baker Hughes said in its closely followed report on Friday.
The total oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, rose by five to 603 in the week to October 9, its highest since May 2024.
Baker Hughes said this week’s increase put the total rig count up 56 rigs, or 10% above this time last year.
Baker Hughes said oil rigs rose by six to 462 this week, their highest since May 2025, while gas rigs fell by one to 132, their lowest since mid-September, and other miscellaneous rigs held at nine.
In the Permian Shale in West Texas and eastern New Mexico, the rig count rose by four to 274, the highest since June 2025.
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 on increasing output.
But now spot US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude prices are 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 (EIA) projected that crude output will rise from a record 13.7 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2025 to 13.9 million bpd in 2026.
On the gas side, EIA projected that output will jump from a record 107.6 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in 2025 to 112.2 bcfd in 2026 as demand for the fuel rises to produce electricity for power-hungry data centers and liquefied natural gas (LNG) for export.
(Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by David Gregorio)