The biggest, fastest-growing oil producer in the U.S. said it plans to halt output growth this year, delivering a signal that shale companies are beginning to do what it takes to reduce oversupplies. EOG Resources Inc., which has boosted its oil production by almost 50 percent annually for the past five years, is slashing spending 40 percent and will drill half the wells it did in 2014. The Houston-based company fell more than 6 percent in after-hours trading as it reported fourth-quarter profit Wednesday that missed expectations. The company joins Apache Corp. in its plan to pump about the same volume of oil as last year. The cutbacks are a sign that shale producers can slow down a lot more quickly than forecasters are expecting, said Michael Scialla, a Denver-based analyst at Stifel Nicolaus & Co. “EOG is viewed as the premier company in shale development, and […]