Oct. 27—The rig count in the Permian Basin was up one this week, the latest count Friday by Baker Hughes shows, with 313 rigs active in the region. A year ago, 346 rigs were active in the region.

Nationally, the oil and gas rig count is up one from last week at 625 rigs. A year ago, 768 rigs were active. The count shows that 504 rigs sought oil, up two from the previous week, and 117 explored for natural gas, down one 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 $82.02 per barrel, down $3.21 from last Friday's close. National benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude ended at $85.54 per barrel, down $3.21 from the previous week.