NEW YORK, May 15 (Reuters) - U.S. energy firms this week

added oil and natural gas rigs for a fourth week in a row for

the first time since September 2025, energy services firm Baker

Hughes ( BKR ) said in its closely followed report on Friday.

The oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future

output, rose by three to 551 in the week to May 15, its highest

since late March.

Despite this week's rig increase, Baker Hughes ( BKR ) said the

total count was still down 25 rigs, or 4% below this time last

year.

Baker Hughes ( BKR ) said oil rigs rose by five to 415 this week,

their highest since November 2025, while gas rigs fell by one to

128, their lowest since mid-April, and other miscellaneous rigs

fell by one to 8.

The oil and gas rig count declined by 7% in 2025, 5% in

2024, and 20% in 2023 as lower U.S. oil prices prompted

energy firms to focus more on boosting shareholder returns and

paying down debt rather than increasing output.

But now with U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude spot

prices expected to rise in 2026 due to the Iran war after

declining in 2023, 2024, and 2025, the U.S. Energy Information

Administration (EIA) projected crude output would edge up from a

record 13.6 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2025 to 13.7

million bpd in 2026.

On the gas side, EIA projected output would rise from a

record 107.7 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in 2025 to 110.6

bcfd in 2026, even though spot prices at the U.S. Henry Hub

benchmark in Louisiana were expected to ease by about 1% in

2026.