US Rig Count Climbs to 581 for Fourth Straight Weekly Gain
According to Reuters, as reported by BOE Report, US energy firms added rigs for a fourth week in a row this week, the first time that’s happened since early June, oilfield services firm Baker Hughes said in its closely watched weekly report.
The total US oil and gas rig count rose by one to 581 in the week to July 10, its highest level since May 2025. Baker Hughes said the increase puts the total rig count up 44 rigs, or 8%, above this time last year.
Oil rigs held steady at 445 and gas rigs held at 126 for the week, while miscellaneous rigs rose by one to 10. In the Eagle Ford shale in South Texas, the rig count rose by three to 47, the highest since April 2025. In Texas, the nation’s biggest oil and gas producing state, the rig count rose by one to 272, the most since May 2025.
The rig count had declined 7% in 2025, 5% in 2024, and 20% in 2023 as lower US oil prices pushed energy firms to prioritize shareholder returns and debt paydown over output growth. But with spot WTI crude prices expected to rise in 2026 on supply disruptions tied to the Iran war, the US Energy Information Administration projects crude output will climb from a record 13.6 million barrels per day in 2025 to 13.8 million bpd in 2026. On the gas side, EIA projects output will jump from a record 107.7 billion cubic feet per day in 2025 to 111.3 bcfd in 2026, driven by rising demand to power data centers and to supply LNG exports.
What It Means for Subcontractors
Four straight weeks of rig additions, concentrated in the Eagle Ford and broader Texas footprint, is a tangible demand signal for drilling support, completions, and field service subcontractors. The EIA’s 2026 production outlook, tied directly to data center power demand and LNG exports, suggests this isn’t a one-week blip: crews and equipment providers positioned in South Texas should expect sustained bid activity if the trend holds through the back half of the year.
