Sub-Zero Oil Slams U.S. Drilling in Worst Decline on Record

  • Explorers idled 14% of onshore drilling fleet: Baker Hughes
  • In six weeks, almost half of American exploration has halted
Photographer: Brittany Sowacke/Bloomberg
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The fallout from sub-zero oil prices is accelerating the slump in U.S. crude exploration to a pace never seen before.

Drilling in onshore American fields fell the most in 14 years this week, according to data released just days after benchmark New York-traded crude futures sank to minus $40.32 a barrel in a heretofore unheard of crash.