Baker Hughes reports that US drillers have added oil/gas rigs to their fleet for the fourth consecutive week.

Baker Hughes, a closely watched energy services firm, said in its report on Friday that U.S. firms added oil and gas rigs for a fourth consecutive week.

In the week ending May 15, the oil and gas rig counts, which is an early indicator of future production, increased by three, to 551 - its highest level since late March.

Baker Hughes reported that despite a?this week?s increase in rig count, the total number was still down 25 rigs or 4% from this time last year.

Baker Hughes reported that oil rigs increased by five this week to 415, the highest level since November 2025. Gas rigs dropped by one to 128 - their lowest level since mid-April - and other miscellaneous drilling rigs decreased by a?one to 8

Oil and gas rig counts will decline by 7%, 5%, and 20% between 2025 and 2023, as the lower U.S. crude oil prices encourage energy firms to focus on increasing shareholder returns and paying off debt, rather than increasing output.

The 'U.S.' is now preparing for a rise in the price of U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) in 2026, after a decline in 2023,?2024, and 2025. Energy Information Administration (EIA), a government agency, projected that crude production would increase from a record high of 13.6 million barrels per day (bpd), in 2025, to 13.7 millions bpd by?2026.

EIA predicted that gas production would increase from a record of 107.7 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd), in?2025, to 110.6 bcfd, in 2026. This was despite the fact that spot prices for the U.S. Henry Hub in Louisiana, were expected to fall by about 1%. (Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)

(source: Reuters)