The market recovery for crude oil prices paints a good picture for U.S. exploration and production, analysis finds. File photo by Christopher Halloran/Shutterstock Jan. 5 (UPI) — Rig counts, a metric used to gauge exploration and production, were mixed last month, with U.S. land numbers down and offshore up, a market survey found. Commodity pricing group S&P Global Platts said in an emailed report it counted 988 rigs working inland in the United States in December, down about 3 percent from November, but up 47 percent from the same time last year. Exploration and production trends waned as the market hit rock bottom with a price for crude oil below $30 per barrel in early 2016. Fast forward to December, and prices were holding firm to the $60 range. In the first week of 2018, the price for Brent crude oil, the global benchmark, was making a run at […]