Steepest Drop in U.S. Oil Rigs Shows OPEC Prevailing

``U.S. drillers have taken a record number of oil rigs out of service in the past six weeks as OPEC's sustained production sent prices below $50 a barrel. The oil rig count has fallen by 209 since Dec. 5, the steepest six-week decline since Baker Hughes Inc. (BHI:US) began tracking the data in July 1987. The count fell by 55 this week to 1,366. Horizontal rigs used in U.S. shale formations that account for virtually all of the nation's oil production growth fell by 48, the biggest single-week decline.''