U.S. energy companies added one rig to their combined oil and gas fleet in the week ending June 18, bringing the total to 563, according to data published by Baker Hughes. This marks the eighth increase in nine weeks, and the count is now at its highest point since early June.
Baker Hughes released the weekly rig report a day earlier than usual because the Juneteenth holiday fell on Friday. The cumulative rig count sits nine rigs, or 2%, above the same week a year ago.
Activity by fuel type showed oil rigs unchanged at 433 for the reporting week. Gas-directed rigs rose by one to 122, reaching their highest tally since early June. Miscellaneous rigs remained steady at eight.
The report follows several years of declines in the overall oil and gas rig count. The combined rig count dropped 7% in 2025, 5% in 2024, and 20% in 2023. Those reductions coincided with a period of lower U.S. oil prices that led many energy companies to emphasize returning capital to shareholders and reducing debt rather than expanding production.
Looking ahead to broader supply dynamics, the U.S. Energy Information Administration expects U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude prices to increase in 2026 as a result of supply disruptions stemming from the Iran war. The EIA projects U.S. crude output will rise modestly from a record 13.6 million barrels per day in 2025 to 13.7 million barrels per day in 2026.
What this means
- The rig count increase was small but continues a trend of mostly rising activity over recent weeks.
- Gas-directed drilling has shown a slight uptick, while oil-directed drilling remained flat in the latest week.
- Industry capital allocation decisions in prior years, driven by lower prices, have restrained production growth despite the recent uptick in rigs.
These data points provide a snapshot of operational trends across U.S. upstream activity, the evolution of which will influence crude output and the broader oil market in the months ahead.