en.Wedoany.com Reported - Energy services firm Baker Hughes reported on Thursday that U.S. energy companies increased the number of rigs for the third consecutive week.

In the week ending July 2, the total number of oil and gas rigs, an early indicator of future output, rose by 7 to 580, the highest level since May 2025.

Baker Hughes released the rig count report a day earlier than usual due to the U.S. Independence Day holiday being observed on Friday, July 3. After this week's increase, the total rig count is 41 rigs higher than the same period last year, representing a year-over-year increase of 7.6%.

According to Baker Hughes data, oil rigs increased by 5 to 445 this week, the highest since late May 2025; natural gas rigs increased by 1 to 126, the highest since mid-May 2026; and miscellaneous rigs increased by 1 to 9.

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

However, due to supply disruptions from the Iran war, the spot price of U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude is expected to rise in 2026 after declines in 2023, 2024, and 2025. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects crude oil production to rise from a record 13.6 million barrels per day in 2025 to 13.7 million barrels per day in 2026.

For natural gas, the EIA expects production to jump from a record 107.7 billion cubic feet per day in 2025 to 111.0 billion cubic feet per day in 2026, driven by demand from data centers for electricity and fuel for liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports.