Oil explorers idled rigs in U.S. fields for the 19th straight week, prolonging an unprecedented retrenchment in drilling. Rigs targeting oil in the U.S. declined by 26 to 734, Baker Hughes Inc. said on its website Friday, a four-year low. Those seeking gas slipped by eight to 217, the Houston-based field services company said. The total U.S. count, which includes three miscellaneous rigs, fell by 34 to 954, the fewest since 2009. The six-month retreat in oil drilling is bringing the U.S. shale boom to a halt, with crude production falling twice in three weeks and the government projecting a decline in output from tight-rock formations next month. The country has lost more than half of its oil rigs since October as drillers cut spending and let go of thousands of workers following the worst collapse in prices since 2009. The spending curbs “are starting to impact […]