This week’s Baker Hughes report shows the U.S. domestic oil rig count up eight sites this week, bringing the total to 617 active oil rigs – the highest since the end of September 2015. Both West Texas Intermediate and Brent barrels traded down roughly 1.6 percent on Friday following the release of the report, which hinted at rising U.S. shale production. All week, oil experts and officials from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) have been issuing warnings of impending market volatility due to high American shale oil output. Saudi Oil Minister Khalid al-Falih told reporters at a conference in Houston on Tuesday that OPEC would not be giving a “free ride” to U.S. shale producers—shale producers that have taken the liberty of bringing over a hundred new rigs online in the market upturn fueled by the bloc’s recent production cuts. Since the bloc’s announced cuts, the United […]