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By Scott DiSavino
(Reuters) - U.S. energy firms this week added oil and natural gas rigs for a fifth week in a row for the first time since May 2022, energy services firm Baker Hughes said in its closely followed report on Friday.
The oil and gas rig count, an early indicator of future output, rose by one to 593 in the week to February 28, its highest since June.
Despite this week's rig increase, Baker Hughes said the total count was still down 36 rigs, or 6% below this time last year.
Baker Hughes said oil rigs fell by two to 486 this week, while gas rigs rose by three to 102.
In February, total oil and gas rigs rose by 11, the most in a month since November 2022, with oil rigs up seven, also the biggest monthly gain since November 2022, and gas rigs up four.
The oil and gas rig count declined by about 5% in 2024 and 20% in 2023 as lower U.S. oil and gas prices over the past couple of years prompted energy firms to focus more on boosting shareholder returns and paying down debt rather than raising output.
The 22 independent exploration and production (E&P) companies tracked by U.S. financial services firm TD Cowen said that on average they planned to cut spending in 2025 by around 1% from levels seen in 2024.
That compares with roughly flat year-over-year spending in 2024, and increases of 27% in 2023, 40% in 2022 and 4% in 2021.
(Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
