{
  "id": 13171572,
  "title": "U.S. Oil Drilling Continues to Inch Upward",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/u-s-oil-drilling-continues-to-inch-upward",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-09T17:31:16.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "OilPrice",
    "slug": "oilprice",
    "url": "https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/US-Oil-Drilling-Continues-to-Inch-Upward.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "U.S. oil drilling activity continued to increase in recent weeks, as reported by Baker Hughes on Friday. The total rig count for oil and gas in the United States climbed to 603 active drilling rigs, marking a 56-drill increase compared to the same period last year. Oil rigs specifically rose by 6, reaching 462, which is 44 above the figure from the previous year. Conversely, gas rigs decreased by 1, totaling 132, a 12 increase from last year. Miscellaneous rigs remained unchanged at 9.\n\nThe Energy Information Administration (EIA) data revealed that crude oil production in the U.S. saw a weekly upswing during the week ending October 2nd. This period saw an average production of 13.979 million barrels per day (bpd), an improvement from the prior week's 13.955 million bpd but a 350,000 bpd boost from a year ago. Primary Vision's Frac Spread Count, which gauges the number of crews concluding wells, also rose for the fourth consecutive week, with a total of 196 crews.\n\nIn the Permian Basin, the number of active drilling rigs increased by 4, reaching 274, which is 24 more than a year ago. The count in the Eagle Ford remained steady at 49, a 5 increase from the same time last year. Oil prices faced a decline on Friday leading up to the data release. Brent crude settled at $103.80, up $2.70 from the previous week, while WTI crude declined to $91.29, a 0.22% drop.",
  "summary": "The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States rose this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Friday, with the total rig count in the US rising to 603, up 56 from this same time last year. The number of active oil rigs rose by 6, reaching 462 during the latest reporting period, according to the data. This is 44 above this same time last year.…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}