en.Wedoany.com Reported - U.S. energy firms this week added oil and natural gas rigs for the eighth time in nine weeks, according to a report released by Baker Hughes on Thursday.

The total number of oil and gas rigs, an early indicator of future output, rose by 1 to 563 in the week ending June 18, the highest since early June.

Baker Hughes released its report a day early due to the U.S. Juneteenth holiday on Friday. The company said that with this week's increase, the total rig count is 9 rigs, or 2%, higher than the same period last year.

Baker Hughes said the number of oil rigs held steady at 433 this week, while gas rigs rose by 1 to 122, the highest since early June; miscellaneous rigs remained unchanged at 8.

Oil and gas rig counts fell by 7%, 5%, and 20% in 2025, 2024, and 2023, respectively, as lower U.S. oil prices prompted energy companies to focus more on boosting shareholder returns and paying down debt rather than increasing production.

With U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude spot prices expected to rise in 2026 due to supply disruptions from the Iran war, after declines in 2023, 2024, and 2025, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts crude output will rise to 13.7 million barrels per day in 2026 from a record 13.6 million bpd in 2025.

On the natural gas side, the EIA expects gas output to jump to 111 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in 2026 from a record 107.7 bcfd in 2025, driven by rising demand to meet electricity needs from power-hungry data centers and as fuel for liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports.

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