US Drillers See Slight Uptick in Oil Activity
September 12, 2025
The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States (US) rose this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday.
The total rig count in the US rose to 539, according to Baker Hughes, down 51 from this same time last year. The rig count is still near four-year lows.
The number of oil rigs rose by 2 for the second week in a row, reaching 416. Year over year, this represents a 72-rig decline. The number of gas rigs stayed the same at 118 for a gain of 21 active gas rigs from this time last year. The miscellaneous rig count stayed the same at 5.
The latest EIA data showed that weekly U.S. crude oil production rose in the week ending September 5, from 13.423 million bpd to 13.495 million bpd. This is still 68,000 barrel per day drop from the beginning of the year.
Primary Vision’s Frac Spread Count, an estimate of the number of crews completing wells rose for week ending September 5 to 164. This is just two above the previous week’s four year low.
The drilling downtrend has seen a downturn in recent months, but held steady during this reporting period at 254, for a 52 rig drop year over year. The count in the Eagle Ford rose by 3 to 42, which is 6 fewer than this time last year.
At 12:56 p.m. ET, the WTI benchmark was trading up $0.39 per barrel (+0.63%) on the day at $62.76—a nearly $2 gain from last week’s prices. The Brent benchmark was trading up $0.65 (+0.98%) on Friday at $67.02.
Oilprice.com
