US Oil and Gas Rig Count Falls Even as Oil Prices Rise

According to Oilprice.com, citing Baker Hughes data published Friday, 30 Mordad 1405 (August 21, 2026), the total number of active US oil and gas drilling rigs for the week fell to 588, up 50 from the same period last year but down from the prior week. The number of oil rigs fell by 3 to 452, 41 more than a year earlier, while the number of gas rigs fell by 1 to 127, 5 more than a year earlier.

The weekly decline came even as global oil prices have trended higher amid Strait of Hormuz constraints and escalating US sanctions on Iran, data suggesting that higher prices alone have not yet translated into more US drilling activity.