Baker Hughes reports that US energy companies have added rigs to their fleets for the third consecutive week.

Baker Hughes, a provider of energy services, said that U.S. firms?added drilling rigs this week for the third consecutive week.

The number of oil and gas rigs, a good indicator of future production, increased by 7 in the week ending July 2. This is its highest level since May 2025.

Baker Hughes published the rig counts report one day earlier than normal due to the U.S. The 4th of July holiday is celebrated on Friday, 3rd July. Baker Hughes reported that 'this week, the increase brings the total rig counts up by 41 rigs or 7.6% over a year ago. Baker Hughes reported that oil rigs increased by five this week to 445, a record high since the end of May 2025. Gas rigs also rose by one, to 126, a record high since mid-May 2026. Other miscellaneous and oil rigs also rose by one, to nine. Oil and gas rig counts declined by 7%, 5%, and 20% between 2025 and 2023, as energy firms focused more on increasing shareholder returns and paying off debt than increasing production. The U.S. Energy Information Administration has projected that spot U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude prices will rise in 2026 because of supply disruptions caused by the Iran War. After declining in '2023, '2024, and '2025, they are expected to increase in a year or two due to the Iran conflict. EIA predicted that gas production would increase from a record of 107.7 billion cubic feet per day in 2025 to 111.0 Bcfd in 2026, as the demand for fuel increases to power data centers or export LNG. Reporting by Scott DiSavino, Anjana Anil and Daniel Wallis.

(source: Reuters)