The rig count in the Permian Basin increased by three in the week ending Friday, the latest count by Baker Hughes shows, with 480 rigs active in the region.
Nationally, the oil and gas rig count increased by two to a total of 1,062 rigs. A year ago, 927 rigs were active. The count shows that 862 rigs sought oil, an increase of one from the previous week, and 198 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 $62.25 per barrel, no change from last Friday’s close. National benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude ended at $65.74 per barrel, down seven cents from the previous week.
ON THE NET: Baker Hughes rig count.
