U.S. Rig Count Up Four to 599; Gas Rigs Climb to Highest Level Since July 2023
According to Reuters, syndicated via BOE Report, US energy firms added rigs for a third week in a row for the first time since July, energy services firm Baker Hughes said in its closely followed report on Friday, September 25.
The total oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, rose by four to 599 in the week to September 25, its highest since May 2024. Baker Hughes said this week’s increase puts the total rig count up 50 rigs, or 9%, above this time last year.
Oil rigs rose by three to 455, their highest since mid-August. Gas rigs rose by one to 135, their highest since July 2023, while other miscellaneous rigs held at nine. In the Permian Shale in West Texas and eastern New Mexico, the rig count rose by one to 270, the highest since June 2025. In Oklahoma, the rig count rose by one to 52, the highest since May 2025.
The oil and gas rig count declined by 7% in 2025, 5% in 2024, and 20% in 2023 as lower US oil prices prompted energy firms to focus more on boosting shareholder returns and paying down debt rather than increasing output. Since crude prices surged during the US-Israeli war on Iran, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) projected that crude output will rise from a record 13.7 million barrels per day in 2025 to 13.8 million barrels per day in 2026. On the gas side, EIA projected output will jump from a record 107.6 billion cubic feet per day in 2025 to 111.7 billion cubic feet per day in 2026 as demand for the fuel rises to produce electricity for power-hungry data centers and liquefied natural gas for export.
What It Means for Subcontractors
Drilling and completions crews should treat this as confirmation the third straight weekly gain is holding, not a one-off blip. Permian and Oklahoma activity is at multi-year highs, meaning rig-move scheduling and crew staffing in those basins should be priced and booked now ahead of continued winter gas demand. Gas-directed operators are adding rigs fastest, so oilfield service firms with gas-basin exposure should expect steadier work than the broader 2025 pullback suggested.
