Shale drilling in North America is going to slow down in the second half of the year from its breakneck pace as explorers cling to promises of austerity, according to Baker Hughes Inc. While oil prices are high enough for drillers to add rigs and increase output, investors have called on publicly traded ones to instead distribute profits to shareholders. That means slower growth in the region for oil contracting firms like Baker Hughes and Halliburton Co. The industry is currently recovering from history’s worst crude crash last year. Another 50 rigs could be activated in North America by the end of this year, Chief Executive Officer Lorenzo Simonelli told analysts and investors Wednesday on a conference call. That would imply 15% growth in the Baker Hughes weekly rig count for the second half of the year, far slower than the 39% expansion seen during the first six months […]