The U.S. oil industry reached a significant milestone this week on the path to recovery when a month’s worth of plummeting activity culminated in a five-year low for drilling rigs. Rigs targeting oil in the U.S. fell by 26 to 614 this week, adding to the 35 sidelined in the previous four weeks, Baker Hughes Inc. said on its website Friday. Natural gas rigs were trimmed two to 195 and miscellaneous rigs slipped by one to zero, bringing the total down 29 to 809, the fewest since May 2002. All four of the major crude plays saw less activity, with the Permian Basin in West Texas losing seven oil rigs to 240. “You’re certainly seeing a right-sizing of the domestic oil industry, and that’s where most of the pain has been felt,” Matt Marietta, an analyst at Stephens Inc. in Houston, said Friday in a phone interview. “This is […]

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