The total number of active drilling rigs in the United States fell by 7 this week after climbing by 1 last week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published Friday, with the number of active oil rigs plunging to their lowest level since January 28 of last year. The total rig count fell to 618 this week. So far this year, Baker Hughes has estimated a loss of 161 active drilling rigs. This week’s count is 457 fewer rigs than the rig count at the beginning of 2019 prior to the pandemic. The number of oil rigs fell by 8 to 496, down by…