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(Reuters) – U.S. energy firms left the overall rig count unchanged in the latest week, 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 at 588 in the week to August 7 from the previous week.
Baker Hughes said the total count was still up 49 rigs, or 9% from this time last year.
Baker Hughes said oil rigs rose by three to 454 this week, their highest level since May 2025, while gas rigs fell by three to 124, their lowest level since June 2026, and other miscellaneous rigs held at 10.
In the Permian, the nation’s biggest oil-producing shale basin in West Texas and eastern New Mexico, the rig count rose by three to 263, the most since July 2025.
In Pennsylvania, the rig count fell by one to 16, the lowest since April 2025.
In Texas, the state with the most rigs, the rig count rose by two to 275, the most since April 2025.
The oil and gas rig count declined by 7% in 2025, 5% in 2024, and 20% in 2023 as lower U.S. oil prices prompted energy firms to focus more on boosting shareholder returns and paying down debt rather than increasing output. But spot U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude prices are expected to rise in 2026 due to supply disruptions from the Iran war after declining in 2023, 2024, and 2025.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration projected last month that crude output will rise from a record 13.6 million barrels per day in 2025 to 13.8 million bpd in 2026. On the gas side, the EIA projected output will jump from a record 107.7 billion cubic feet per day in 2025 to 111.3 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 Rod Nickel
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