The drilling rig count in North Dakota’s oil patch, a closely watched metric through which many attempt to divine future crude production, appears to have hit a bottom. For the past three weeks the count has hovered between 76 and 79, after sliding only slightly from 80 at the end of May. On June 12, the count hit 76, the lowest level since 2009. The count bobbed slightly in the ensuing days, hitting 77 on Tuesday. It has, in short, been the longest period since oil prices started to slide last fall that the rig count has stayed in the same range, offering many in and near the No. 2 U.S. crude-producing state’s energy industry a bit of solace that a nadir has been reached. In early March, for example, the count was at 113. The apparent stabilization has produced a palpable sigh […]