U.S. energy firms added oil rigs for a 17th week in a row, extending a 12-month drilling recovery that is expected to help boost crude production in the United States to a record high next year. Drillers added nine oil rigs in the week to May 12, bringing the total count up to 712, the most April 2015, energy services firm Baker Hughes Inc said on Friday. While that is more than double the same week a year ago when there were only 318 active oil rigs, the pace of those additions has declined with the total over the past four weeks falling to the lowest since March. U.S. crude output was expected to rise to an average of 9.3 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2017 […]