The Bakken-shale-focused oil-and-gas producer uttered the “F” word in its 2016 outlook: Fifty. That is the oil price underpinning its cash-flow and production targets for next year. It is slightly above where the price is now but fully one-fifth below the consensus forecast. Whiting’s shares plunged 6% on Thursday. The bigger story from Whiting’s uncharacteristic display of hunkering down is its bearish implication for oil prices. First, consider that based on $50 oil, Whiting plans to lay out $1 billion on capital expenditure in 2016, equal to projected cash flow. That would be a 53% cut in investment versus guidance for this year, leading to just an expected 10% drop in output. That reflects productivity gains with Whiting reporting output gains of 40% to 50% in some recently completed wells. Second, Whiting also said Thursday that its budget is “flexible.” There is a certain irony in this: The company […]