US Drillers Add More Rigs In Response to Higher Prices
By Julianne Geiger - May 29, 2026, 12:10 PM CDT
The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States rose this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday, bringing the total rig count in the US to 562, down just 1 from this same time last year.
The number of active oil rigs rose by 4 to 429 during the latest reporting period, according to the data. This is 22 below this same time last year. The number of gas rigs stayed the same at 125, which is 16 more than this time last year. The miscellaneous rig stayed the same at 8.
The latest EIA data showed that weekly U.S. crude oil production rose during week ending May 15. US crude oil production averaged 13.702 million bpd during the reporting period—just 160,000 bpd under the all-time high.
Primary Vision’s Frac Spread Count, an estimate of the number of crews completing wells, rose during the week ending May 15 by 5 again this week, reaching 184 crews—the highest level since last June.
The number of active drilling rigs in the Permian Basin rose by 5, reaching 255. This is 23 rigs under year-ago levels. The count in the Eagle Ford stayed the same at 44, which is 1 more than this same time last year.
Oil prices were down on Friday morning as rumors surfaced that a US deal with Iran is on the horizon. Brent is now trading at $91.99 (-1.84%) per barrel, down $12 per barrel on the week. WTI was also trading down on the day at $87.85 (-1.05%), down $10 week over week.
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
