US rig count down eight as prices drop
May 3—The rig count in the Permian Basin was down one this week, the latest count Friday by Baker Hughes shows, with 316 rigs active in the region. A year ago, 356 rigs were active in the region.
Nationally, the oil and gas rig count is down eight from last week at 605 rigs. A year ago, 748 rigs were active. The count shows that 499 rigs sought oil, down seven from the previous week, and 102 explored for natural gas, down three from the previous week. The count also shows four miscellaneous rigs, up two 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 $74.59 per barrel, down $5.74 from last Friday's close. National benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude ended at $78.11 per barrel, down $5.74 from the previous week.
