The rig count in the Permian Basin remained steady with no change the week ending Friday, the latest count by Baker Hughes shows, with 427 rigs active in the region.
Nationally, the oil and gas rig count declined by 1 to a total of 946 rigs. A year ago, 729 rigs were active. The count shows that 765 rigs sought oil, an increase of six from the previous week, and 181 explored for natural gas, a decrease 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 $62 per barrel, down 75 cents from last week. National benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude ended at $65.45 per barrel, down 96 cents from last week.
ON THE NET: Baker Hughes rig count.
