Jul. 26—The rig count in the Permian Basin was down one this week, the latest count Friday by Baker Hughes shows, with 304 rigs active in the region. A year ago, 334 rigs were active in the region.

Nationally, the oil and gas rig count is up three from last week at 589 rigs. A year ago, 664 rigs were active. The count shows that 482 rigs sought oil, up five from the previous week, and 101 explored for natural gas, down two from the previous week. The count also shows six miscellaneous rigs, unchanged 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 $73.64 per barrel, down $2.97 from last Friday's close. National benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude ended at $77.16 per barrel, down $2.97 from the previous week.