Rigs targeting oil and natural gas in the U.S. were unchanged this week at 1,831, according to Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI) Oil rigs declined by seven to 1,510, data posted on the company’s website show. The gas count increased by six to 316, the Houston-based field services company said. Miscellaneous rigs rose by one to five. The total count gained 52 rigs in the first quarter as producers ramped up drilling in shale formations from North Dakota to Texas, boosting domestic crude output to the highest in a quarter-century. The boom helped the nation meet 87 percent of its energy needs in 2013, the highest since 1985, according to data from the Energy Information Administration. “The prolific rise in domestic crude oil production volume has resulted in a steep fall in U.S. petroleum imports,” Bloomberg Industries analysts Vincent Piazza and Gurpal Dosanjh said in a report yesterday. “Net imports […]