The rig count in the Permian Basin was down by two this week, the latest count Friday by Baker Hughes shows, with 439 rigs active in the region. A year ago, 474 rigs were active in the region.
Nationally, the oil and gas rig count is down two from last week at 967 rigs. A year ago, 1052 rigs were active. The count shows that 789 rigs sought oil, up one from the previous week, and 177 explored for natural gas, down four from the previous week.
The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981. It bottomed out in May of 2016 at 404.
The regional benchmark Plains-West Texas Intermediate Posting ended Friday at $54.00 per barrel, up $5.00 from last Friday’s close. National benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude ended at $57.43 per barrel, up $4.92 from the previous week.
