Oct. 4 – The number of drilling rigs in the Permian Basin fell by two this week, according to Friday’s latest count by Baker Hughes, with 304 rigs operating in the region. A year ago, there were 309 oil rigs active in the region.
Nationally, the number of oil and gas platforms fell twice from last week, to 585 rigs. A year ago, 619 drilling rigs were active. The count shows that 479 oil rigs searched for oil, five fewer than the week before, and 102 drilling rigs searched for natural gas, three more than the week before. The count also shows four miscellaneous drilling rigs, unchanged from the previous week.
The number of U.S. drilling rigs peaked in 1981 at 4,530. In August 2020, it reached a low of 244.
Regional benchmark Plains-West Texas Intermediate Posting ended Friday at $70.86 a barrel, up $6.20 from last Friday’s close. National benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude ended at $74.38 per barrel, up $6.20 from the previous week.
