Drillers sidelined rigs in U.S. oil fields for the first time in three weeks, resuming the steepest and most protracted decline in drilling on record. Rigs targeting oil in the U.S. decreased by 7 to 638, Baker Hughes Inc. said on its website Friday. They rose by five last week. Natural gas rigs rose by 1 to 218 and miscellaneous rigs were unchanged at 1, bringing the total down by 6 to 857. America’s oil drillers have sidelined more than half the country’s rigs since October as U.S. crude collapsed from its mid-2014 peak to less than $45 a barrel in March. After rebounding somewhat and staying near $60 for much of the second quarter, West Texas Intermediate has dropped 17 percent from June 23. The latest rig-count decline was more of a “normal churn” when operators look to get more bang for their buck by letting go of […]