The rig count in the Permian Basin increased by one in 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 10 to a total of 1,003 rigs. A year ago, 839 rigs were active. The count shows that 808 rigs sought oil, an increase of 11 from the previous week, and 194 explored for natural gas, no change 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 Thursday at $58.50 per barrel, down $3 from last Thursday’s close. National benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude ended at $62.06 per barrel, down $2.88 from the previous week.
ON THE NET: Baker Hughes rig count.
