Rigs targeting oil and natural gas in the U.S. dropped by one this week to 1,761, according to Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI) Oil rigs increased two to 1,387, data posted on the company’s website show. The gas count dropped one to 369, the Houston-based field services company said. Miscellaneous rigs were down two to five. The volume of crude and gas extracted per rig has jumped to records in shale plays across the U.S. as companies adopt more efficient drilling and completion techniques, boosting the yield from wells and helping increase domestic oil production to the highest level in two decades. The advances have weakened companies’ appetite for more rigs, driving the U.S. rig count down by 56 in the past year. U.S. oil output slipped 7,000 barrels a day to 7.97 million in the seven days ended Nov. 15 from the highest level since January 1989 in the […]