Baker Hughes reports that US drillers have added oil and gas rigs to their fleet for the first time in 3 weeks.

Baker Hughes, a?energy services firm?, said on Thursday that U.S. firms added to the number of oil and gas rigs operating for the first time since three weeks.

The number of oil and 'gas rigs, an early indicator for future production, increased by five in the week ending April 2.

Baker Hughes reported that despite this week's increase in rigs the total count is still 42 rigs or 7.1% lower than this time last year.

Baker Hughes reported that oil rigs increased by two this week to 411, while gas rigs increased by three to 130.

Oil and gas rig counts declined by about 7% in 2025. They also decreased by 5% in 2020 and 20% in 2030 as energy firms focused more on increasing shareholder returns and paying off debt than increasing output.

Energy Information Administration (EIA), a government agency, said that higher oil prices due to supply disruptions caused by the Middle East conflict would boost U.S. production. The EIA projected that U.S. crude output in 2026 would average 13,61 million barrels a day (bpd), and increase to 13.83 millions bpd by the year 2027.

The Energy?Information?Administration?reported on Tuesday that U.S. crude output dropped the most in the past two years in January, following a severe snowstorm which knocked production?offline? in large swathes across the country.

The EIA predicted that gas production would increase from a record of 107.7 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd), in 2025, to 109.5 bcfd by 2026. Spot prices at the U.S. Henry hub benchmark in Louisiana are forecast to rise by?about 7 percent in 2026.

LSEG, a financial firm, reported that U.S. exports of liquefied gas?took a record high in March due to plants running above their nameplate capacity as well as the addition of new units. Anmol Choubey, Bengaluru (reporting) and David Gregorio (editing)

(source: Reuters)