


In a small win for the Trump administration’s “Drill, Baby, Drill” agenda, the number of active rigs in the United States rose for the second week in row, according to new data published by energy service firm Baker Hughes.
The U.S. added two oil rigs and one natural gas rig in the week ending Friday.
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The increased rig count could signal that the market was not as shocked as some had feared by oil prices briefly plummeting below $60 per barrel earlier this month.
Many in the oil and gas industry, however, remain uncertain about whether developers can profitably pursue new drilling under dropping prices and the steel tariffs President Donald Trump imposed.
The rig count has fallen since last year, although most of the decline took place before Trump came into office. Baker Hughes’s report found that compared to this week in 2024, there are 25 fewer onshore rigs and four fewer offshore rigs in the U.S. The active rig count in the U.S. stands at 587.
Dan Doyle, president and owner of Reliance Well Services, told Reuters this week that since January, his fracking company has only serviced six jobs. In that same period of time last year, the company had 40 jobs.
“There’s no question we’re going to be down this year,” Marshall Adkins, with investment bank Raymond James, told Fortune. “The magnitude of that decline is what’s in question. Most of the oil [producers] are scaling back their growth.”
“We’re not drilling like crazy,” James continued. “At these prices, you’re meaningfully impairing the U.S. oil and gas industry.”
For weeks, analysts and drilling executives have warned that prices will need to remain between $60 and $65 for developers to see profitable drilling.
Companies are now facing increased pressure from supply chain costs brought on by the Trump administration’s tariffs on steel, China, and Western allies. A new Wood Mackenzie report found that the tariffs could increase production costs by up to 4% for onshore projects. Offshore projects could experience even greater price hikes of up to 14%.
If prices remain in the low $60s or fall closer to $50 per barrel, companies may be forced to take cost-cutting measures, such as layoffs. That could have unintended consequences on the industry, including forcing consumer prices back up.
Projections for oil demand growth this year have been repeatedly cut. The International Energy Agency now estimates that global demand for oil will only increase by around 730,000 barrels per day. In March, the IEA predicted it would grow by 1 million barrels per day.
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Despite the concerns, Trump administration officials have remained confident that drillers will be able to increase production in the coming months, with the intention of offering relief to homeowners’ energy bills.
“You see a marketplace right now that is worried about economic growth, and I think you are seeing some softening in oil prices from that,” Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Bloomberg Television earlier this month. “I think that fear is misplaced.”