U.S. crude oil production increased slightly for the week ending Jan. 2 despite a decline in rig activity and slumping prices, government data show. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in a weekly petroleum status report total U.S. oil production was 9.13 million barrels per day for the week ending Jan. 2, up about 11,000 bpd from the previous week. Production from the Lower 48 was behind the entire gain as output from Alaska was unchanged from the previous week. Oil prices are at the point where some companies working in U.S. shale basins and elsewhere in North America are cutting back on spending programs. Oil services company Baker Hughes in its latest assessment of the exploration and production sector in the United States found rig activity was […]