The US drilling rig count remained at 603 in the week ending October 16. Oil rigs declined, while increases in gas and miscellaneous rigs offset the fall. The combined total remained above its level a year earlier. The weekly figures show the composition of drilling activity changing alongside separate US government forecasts for higher annual oil and gas production.
US active drilling rigs remained at 603 in the week ending October 16, according to the survey by oilfield services company Baker Hughes. The combined total stood 55 rigs above the corresponding week a year earlier. Within that unchanged headline figure, oil drilling declined while other categories increased.[1], [2]
Oil rigs fell by 3 to 459. Gas rigs increased by 1 to 133, and miscellaneous rigs rose by 2 to 11, their highest level since January. Those changes offset one another in the total. The annual comparison put the combined count 10 per cent above the corresponding week last year.[1]
The US rig count had fallen 7 per cent in 2025, 5 per cent in 2024 and 20 per cent in 2023. Lower oil prices in those years encouraged companies to prioritise shareholder returns and debt repayment over increasing production. Separately, the US Energy Information Administration projects crude output rising from 13.7 million barrels a day in 2025 to 13.9 million in 2026. Those annual production projections accompany the weekly drilling survey.[1]
