The rig count in the Permian Basin was up one this week, the latest count Friday by Baker Hughes shows, with 353 rigs active in the region. A year ago, 293 rigs were active in the region.
Nationally, the oil and gas rig count is unchanged from last week at 779 rigs. A year ago, 586 rigs were active. The count shows that 621 rigs sought oil, down one from the previous week, and 156 explored for natural gas, up 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 $76.74 per barrel, up 70 cents from last Friday’s close. National benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude ended at $80.26 per barrel, up 70 cents from the previous week.
