March 11 (Reuters) - U.S. energy firms this week cut oilrigs for a 12th week in a row to the lowest level since December2009 as drillers continue to slash capital expenditures despitecrude prices having apparently bottomed, data showed on Friday. Looking forward, many analysts think the rig count willrebound later this year when prices rise. Drillers removed six oil rigs in the week ended March 11,bringing the total rig count down to 386, oil services companyBaker Hughes Inc said. That compares with 866 oil rigs operating in the same week ayear ago. Drillers started to steadily reduce their rig countafter crude prices began to collapse mid-2014. U.S. crude futures were trading just under $39 abarrel, up 8 percent on the week and set for its fourth weeklygain on forecasts of tighter supplies as U.S. and non-OPEC crudeoutput was beginning to fall faster than previously expected. After falling as low as $26.05 a barrel last month, itslowest level since 2003, U.S. crude has rebounded and was around $42 for the balance of 2016 and $45 for calendar 2017. Chevron Corp said this week it will add two rigs inthe oil-rich Permian shale of West Texas in 2016, part of a betthat crude prices will rise this year. Other producers, however, are still reducing rigs due to thecrude oil price rout. In Alaska, BP Plc said it will cut the number of rigsoperating in its Prudhoe Bay field from five to two and cut morethan 200 contracting jobs. In an effort to extend the life of existing wells, somedrillers are investing in new technologies, like choking andlifting, to keep their wells producing oil and natural gas forlonger. Those efforts however were not expected to boost U.S. oil output over the next two years, only slow the rate of decline. U.S. oil production was expected to fall from 9.4 millionbarrels per day in 2015 to 8.7 million bpd in 2016 and 8.2million bpd in 2017, according to the federal estimates thisweek. Analysts at Morgan Stanley this week forecast North Americanexploration and production companies would cut spending on oiland natural gas rigs by over 50 percent in 2016 versus 2015,before increasing spending by over 40 percent in 2017 versus2016. Analysts at Swiss bank UBS lowered their North American rigcount expectations with activity in the first quarter to declineby 26 percent from the fourth quarter. Analysts at Simmons & Co International forecast the overallU.S. gas and oil onshore rig count would fall around 10 rigs perweek for the rest of the quarter. Analysts at Evercore ISI forecast the gas and oil land rigcount would fall by an even bigger 15 rigs per week for the restof the quarter before holding mostly steady during the secondquarter and rising in the second half of 2016, 2017 and 2018. The total oil and gas rig count this week fell to 480, with386 oil and 94 gas rigs, the lowest level since at least 1987.Gas rigs were at their lowest level since atleast 1987, according to the Baker Hughes records. (Reporting by Scott DiSavino, Barani Krishnan; Editing byMarguerita Choy)