A worker waits to connect a drill bit on Endeavor Energy Resources LP’s Big Dog Drilling Rig 22 in the Permian basin outside of Midland, Texas The number of rigs drilling for oil in the US dropped sharply this week as plunging crude prices hit development of shale reserves, the most-watched survey of industry activity has shown. There were 1,366 rigs drilling wells primarily for oil in the US, the lowest number since October 2013, according to Baker Hughes , the oilfield services company that compiles a weekly count. The number of oil-directed rigs has now fallen 15 per cent from its recent peak of 1,609 in October last year. The figures show a broad-based decline in activity in all the areas that have led the US shale oil boom, reinforcing expectations that US crude production growth will slow sharply this year, or even go into reverse. Standard & […]