US energy firms left the rig count unchanged this week with oil rigs down and natural gas and miscellaneous rigs up, 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, held steady at 603 in the week to October 16.
Baker Hughes said that put the total rig count up 55 rigs, or 10% above this time last year.
Baker Hughes said oil rigs fell by three to 459 this week, while gas rigs rose by one to 133, and other miscellaneous rigs rose by two to 11, the highest since January.
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 now with spot US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) 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 (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 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 Chris Reese and David Gregorio)