Sep. 8—The rig count in the Permian Basin was up one this week, the latest count Friday by Baker Hughes shows, with 320 rigs active in the region. A year ago, 340 rigs were active in the region.

Nationally, the oil and gas rig count is up one from last week at 632 rigs. A year ago, 759 rigs were active. The count shows that 513 rigs sought oil, up one from the previous week, and 113 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 $83.99 per barrel, up $1.96 from last Friday's close. National benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude ended at $87.51 per barrel, up $1.96 from the previous week.