US energy firms this week kept the total rig count unchanged for a second week in a row, 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 during the week ended October 23.
Baker Hughes said the total rig count was up 53 rigs, or 10% above this time last year.
Baker Hughes said oil rigs rose by one to 460 this week, the highest since early October, while gas rigs fell by one to 132, the lowest since early October. Other miscellaneous rigs held at 11.
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 US producers got an incentive to drill as oil prices spiked with the US-Israeli war on Iran, putting spot US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude prices on track for the first annual rise in four years. 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)