US rig count down six as prices fall

The rig count in the Permian Basin was unchanged this week, the latest count Friday by Baker Hughes shows, with 310 rigs active in the region. A year ago, 346 rigs were active in the region.

Nationally, the oil and gas rig count is down six from last week at 594 rigs. A year ago, 695 rigs were active. The count shows that 492 rigs sought oil, down four from the previous week, and 98 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 $72.01 per barrel, down $1.46 from last Friday’s close. National benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude ended at $75.53 per barrel, down $1.46 from the previous week.