Low crude oil prices suggest activity in the exploration and production side of the energy sector will stay depressed, U.S. rig company Hercules Offshore said. From U.S. operations alone, Hercules said revenue generated during the second quarter of the year dropped 71 percent year-on-year to $40.6 million. Crude oil markets are struggling to recover from the long decline that began in June 2014, when prices were above the $100 per barrel mark. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, dropped below $50 per barrel in interday trading this week. “The latest pullback in the price of oil is likely to delay any improvement in worldwide activity levels well into 2016,” Chief Executive Officer John Rynd said in a statement. In the U.S. sector, the company […]