Permian Basin rig count holds steady as crude prices slip

The Permian Basin rig count held steady at 267 this week, unchanged from the previous week, according to Baker Hughes data released Friday. The region had 255 active rigs in the same week a year ago.

Nationally, the total oil and gas rig count was unchanged at 588. That compares with 536 rigs active a year earlier. The latest tally showed 447 rigs targeting oil, a decline of five for the week, while 132 rigs were drilling for natural gas, up five. Miscellaneous rigs were unchanged at nine.

Baker Hughes records show the U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981 and bottomed out at 244 in August 2020 during the industry's pandemic-driven collapse.

Crude prices moved lower on the week. Plains-West Texas Intermediate Posting, a regional benchmark, ended Friday at $79.88 per barrel, down $3.66 from the previous week. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, closed at $83.40 a barrel, also down $3.66 from last Friday.

The firm count in the Permian suggests most operators remain comfortable with current economics despite the price pullback. Even with crude off sharply week over week, prices are still above levels that forced widespread shutdowns in 2020. At the same time, public producers have leaned toward capital discipline, favoring dividends and buybacks over rapid production growth. That caution, along with inflationary pressure on equipment and labor, has helped keep the drilling count range-bound even as commodity prices have swung.