(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 one to 544 in the week to April 24, its highest since mid-April.
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Despite the rig increase, Baker Hughes said the total count was still down 43 rigs, or 7% below this time last year.
Baker Hughes said oil rigs fell by three to 407 this week, their lowest since February, while gas rigs rose by four to 129, their highest since early April, and other miscellaneous rigs held steady at eight.
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 the exploration and production (E&P) companies it tracks planned to spend about 1% less on 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.
Even though U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) spot crude prices were expected to rise in 2026 for the first time in four years due to the Iran war, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projected crude output would dip from a record 13.6 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2025 to 13.5 million bpd in 2026.
On the gas side, EIA projected output would rise from a record 107.7 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in 2025 to 109.6 bcfd in 2026, with spot prices at the U.S. Henry Hub benchmark in Louisiana forecast to climb by about 4% in 2026.
Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Chris Reese and David Gregorio
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