Oil prices continue to rise

The rig count in the Permian Basin was down one this week, the latest count Friday by Baker Hughes shows, with 232 rigs active in the region. A year ago, 141 rigs were active in the region.

Nationally, the oil and gas rig count is down one from last week at 456 rigs. A year ago, 284 rigs were active. The count shows that 359 rigs sought oil, unchanged from the previous week, and 97 explored for natural gas, down one from the previous week.

The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981. It bottomed out in August of 2020 at 244.

The regional benchmark Plains-West Texas Intermediate Posting ended Friday at $66.10 per barrel, up $3.30 from last Friday’s close. National benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude ended at $69.62 per barrel, up $3.30 from the previous week.