U.S. Oil, Gas Rig Count Creeps Up With Strong Prices

By Julianne Geiger - Sep 18, 2026, 12:18 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, with the total rig count in the US rising to 595, up 53 from this same time last year.The number of active oil rigs rose by 2, reaching 452 during the latest reporting period, according to the data. This is 34 above this same time last year. The number of gas rigs also rose by 2 to 134, which is 16 more than this time last year. Miscellaneous rigs stayed the same at 9.The latest EIA data showed that weekly U.S. crude oil production fell during the week ending September 11. US crude oil production averaged 13.944 million bpd during the reporting period, down slightly from 13.947 million bpd last week but up 462,000 bpd from a year ago.Primary Vision’s Frac Spread Count, an estimate of the number of crews completing wells, broke its four-week losing streak for the week ending September 11, gaining 6 crews to reach 184, and recovering from the lowest point since May.The number of active drilling rigs in the Permian Basin rose by 1 during the reporting period to 269. This is 15 rigs above year-ago levels. The count in the Eagle Ford stayed the same at 51, which is 9 more than this same time last year. Oil prices were down on Friday prior to the data release, with Brent now trading at $103.60 (-1.16%) per barrel, down roughly $1.30 from this time last week. WTI was also trading down on the day at $100.67 (-1.22%). By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.comMore Top Reads From Oilprice.comOil Prices Head for Weekly Loss as Saudi Export Fears EaseGermany Weighs Market Incentives to Boost Record Low Gas Storage LevelTTF Gas Hits $92.95 as Gulf Tensions Weigh on Energy Markets Download The Free Oilprice App Today Back to homepage