The rig count in the Permian Basin increased by two the week ending Friday, the latest count by Baker Hughes shows, with 436 rigs active in the region.
Nationally, the oil and gas rig count increased by three to a total of 984 rigs. A year ago, 768 rigs were active. The count shows that 796 rigs sought oil, a decrease of four from the previous week, and 188 explored for natural gas, an increase of seven 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 $58.50 per barrel, up 75 cents from last week. National benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude ended at $62.04 per barrel, up 79 cents from last week.
ON THE NET: Baker Hughes rig count.
