The rig count in the Permian Basin declined by two in the week ending Friday, the latest count by Baker Hughes shows, with 474 rigs active in the region.
Nationally, the oil and gas rig count declined by seven to a total of 1,052 rigs. A year ago, 941 rigs were active. The count shows that 862 rigs sought oil, a decrease of one from the previous week, and 188 explored for natural gas, a decrease of six 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 $65 per barrel, up $3.50 from last Friday’s close. National benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude ended at $68.58 per barrel, up $3.52 from the previous week.
ON THE NET: Baker Hughes rig count.
