The rig count in the Permian Basin increased by six in the week ending Friday, the latest count by Baker Hughes shows, with 458 rigs active in the region.

Nationally, the oil and gas rig count increased by 11 to a total of 1,032 rigs. A year ago, 877 rigs were active. The count shows that 834 rigs sought oil, an increase of nine from the previous week, and 196 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 $66.25 per barrel, up $1.75 from last Friday’s close. National benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude ended at $69.72 per barrel, up $1.62 from the previous week.

ON THE NET: Baker Hughes rig count.