US rig count down one as prices drop

The rig count in the Permian Basin was unchanged 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 down one from last week at 585 rigs. A year ago, 624 rigs were active. The count shows that 482 rigs sought oil, up one from the previous week, and 99 explored for natural gas, down two from the previous week. The count also shows four 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 $65.70 per barrel, down $6.34 from last Friday’s close. National benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude ended at $69.22 per barrel, down $6.34 from the previous week.