Drilling Drought: US Oil And Gas Rig Count Plummets For 10 Consecutive Weeks

The U.S. oil and gas rig count is spiraling downward, marking its tenth consecutive week of decline. June 2025 numbers show an average of just 557 operational rigs nationwide, with Baker Hughes reports varying between 554 and 588 active drilling units. It’s a slump that hasn’t been seen since October 2021, and honestly, the trend isn’t looking great.

Oil rigs took the biggest hit, falling to 432 in late June—way below what market forecasters expected. Compare that to April’s count of 483 and you start to see how fast things are unraveling. The Permian Basin, America’s oil powerhouse, now hosts somewhere between 270 and 308 rigs, depending on which report you read. Not exactly confidence-inspiring numbers.

America’s oil powerhouse is running out of steam as rig counts plummet far below forecasts.

Gas rigs aren’t painting a prettier picture either. The count hovers between 98 and 111, with Baker Hughes putting the number at 109 for late June. Sure, it’s up from last April, but let’s not throw a party just yet. These numbers are still well below historical peaks. The continuing disparity shows the industry’s clear preference for oil over gas extraction.

Regional data tells the same sad story. Eagle Ford’s down to 41 rigs from 47. Anadarko dropped too. Even the Appalachian and Williston basins couldn’t escape the downward pull, now at 36 and 31 rigs respectively. Haynesville is the lone bright spot with a slight increase. Whoopee.

Here’s the real head-scratcher: crude prices are up at $81.29 per barrel, yet drilling is down. This disconnect reveals the industry’s shift toward prioritizing profitability over aggressive production expansion. Makes you wonder what’s really going on behind the scenes. The total U.S. rig count sits 6% below last year—682 then, 588 now.

Globally, things aren’t much better. From 3,500 rigs in 2014 to just 1,734 today, with America representing about a quarter of that total. For an industry that once drilled 2,000 new wells monthly at its peak in 2011, today’s numbers are downright depressing.

Efficiency’s great and all, but these numbers suggest a serious drilling drought is underway.