US labour and rig costs soar

BACK in the 1980s, when petroleum prices went south, a bumper sticker began appearing on the back of some pick-up trucks in the oil patch that read: "Lord, let us have another boom. We promise we won't mess this one up." Now that the boom has materialised, drillers would like to make an additional request: "Could you send us some rigs and also some skilled workers to operate them?" Anne Feltus writes.