The rig count in the Permian Basin declined by four in the week ending Friday, the latest count by Baker Hughes shows, with 476 rigs active in the region.
Nationally, the oil and gas rig count declined by three to a total of 1,059 rigs. A year ago, 933 rigs were active. The count shows that 863 rigs sought oil, an increase of one from the previous week, and 194 explored for natural gas, a decrease of four 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 $61.50 per barrel, down 75 cents from last Friday’s close. National benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude ended at $65.06 per barrel, down 68 cents from the previous week.
ON THE NET: Baker Hughes rig count.
