The rig count in the Permian Basin increased by one in the week ending Friday, the latest count by Baker Hughes shows, with 445 rigs active in the region.
Nationally, the oil and gas rig count increased by five to a total of 1,008 rigs. A year ago, 847 rigs were active. The count shows that 815 rigs sought oil, an increase of seven from the previous week, and 192 explored for natural gas, a decrease of two 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, up $5.25 from last Friday’s close. National benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude ended at $67.39 per barrel, up $5.33 from the previous week.
ON THE NET: Baker Hughes rig count.
