(Reuters) – U.S. energy firms this week added oil and natural gas rigs for the first time in four 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 one to 551 in the week to March 6.
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Despite this week’s rig increase, Baker Hughes said the total count was still down 41 rigs, or 7% below this time last year.
Baker Hughes said oil rigs rose by four to 411 this week, their highest since early February, while gas rigs fell by two to 132, their lowest since early February.
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.
Financial services firm TD Cowen said 18 of the 21 exploration and production (E&P) companies it tracks planned to spend about 1% less in capital expenditures in 2026 than in 2025.
That compares with a decline of around 4% in 2025, roughly flat year-on-year spending in 2024, and increases of 27% in 2023, 40% in 2022, and 4% in 2021.
With U.S. spot crude prices expected to fall for the fourth year in a row in 2026, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projected crude output would hold at 13.6 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2026, matching 2025’s record high. The EIA made that projection before the U.S. and Israeli air strikes on Iran. Since then, oil prices have spiked since 2023.
While on the gas side, EIA projected output would rise from a record 107.6 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in 2025 to 110.0 bcfd in 2026 with spot prices at the Henry Hub benchmark in Louisiana forecast to jump by about 22% in 2026.
Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Mark Porter and David Gregorio
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