The rig count in the Permian Basin increased by seven the week ending Friday, the latest count by Baker Hughes shows, with 444 rigs active in the region.
Nationally, the oil and gas rig count increased by five to a total of 995 rigs. A year ago, 890 rigs were active. The count shows that 804 rigs sought oil, an increase of four from the previous week, and 190 explored for natural gas, an increase of one 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 $62.25 per barrel, up $3.50 from last week. National benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude ended at $65.88 per barrel, up $3.54 from last week.
ON THE NET: Baker Hughes rig count.
