US drillers keep oil and natgas rig count unchanged for second week in a row, says Baker Hughes

By Scott DiSavino

NEW YORK, Feb 20 (Reuters) - U.S. energy firms this week kept the number of oil and natural gas rigs unchanged for a second week in a row, energy services firm Baker Hughes BKR.O said in its closely followed report on Friday.

The oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, held steady at 551 in the week to February 20, the same as last week. BHGUSWTT, BHGUSOILDRLW, BHGUSGASDRLW

Despite this week's lack of rig movement, Baker Hughes said the total count was still down 41 rigs, or 7% below this time last year.

Baker Hughes said oil rigs held at 409 this week, while gas rigs held at 133.

Even though the overall counts did not change, energy firms did add rigs in some states and take them away in others.

In Alaska, the rig count rose by two to 11, the highest since April 2024.

The oil and gas rig count declined by about 7% in 2025, 5% in 2024, and 20% in 2023 as lower U.S. oil CLc1 prices prompted energy firms to focus more on boosting shareholder returns and paying down debt rather than increasing output.

With just nine of the 22 independent exploration and production companies TD Cowen tracks reporting earnings, the financial services firm said the E&Ps so far have said they plan to spend about 2% more in capital expenditures in 2026 than in 2025.

That compares with a decline of around 4% in 2025, roughly flat year-on-year spending in 2024, and increases of 27% in 2023, 40% in 2022, and 4% in 2021.

With U.S. spot crude prices expected to fall for a fourth year in a row in 2026, the U.S. Energy Information Administration projected crude output would hold at 13.6 million barrels per day in 2026, matching 2025's record high.

On the gas side, the EIA projected output would rise from a record 107.6 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) in 2025 to 110.0 bcfd in 2026 with spot prices at the Henry Hub benchmark in Louisiana forecast to jump by about 22% in 2026. NGAS/POLL