Feb. 14—The rig count in the Permian Basin was up one this week, the latest count Friday by Baker Hughes shows, with 304 rigs active in the region. A year ago, 312 rigs were active in the region.
Nationally, the oil and gas rig count is up two from last week at 588 rigs. A year ago, 621 rigs were active. The count shows that 481 rigs sought oil, up one from the previous week, and 101 explored for natural gas, up one 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 $67.22 per barrel, down 26 cents from last Friday's close. National benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude ended at $70.74 per barrel, down 26 cents from the previous week.