(Reuters) – U.S. energy firms this week added oil and natural gas rigs for the first time in three weeks, energy services firm Baker Hughes said in its closely followed report on Friday.
The oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, rose by 1 to 544 in the week to January 23.
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Despite this week’s rig increase, Baker Hughes said the total count was still down 32 rigs, or 5.6% below this time last year.
Baker Hughes said oil rigs rose by 1 to 411 this week, their, while gas rigs were unchanged at 122.
The oil and gas rig count declined by about 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.
With U.S. spot crude prices expected to fall for a fourth year in a row in 2026, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projected crude output would ease from a record 13.61 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2025 to around 13.59 million bpd in 2026.
On the gas side, EIA projected output would rise from a record 107.4 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in 2025 to 108.8 bcfd in 2026 even though spot prices at the Henry Hub benchmark were forecast to ease by about 2% in 2026.
Reporting by Scott DiSavino in New York and Anushree Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by David Gregorio
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