Whiting Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: WLL), the largest oil producer in North Dakota's Bakken Shale, slashed its 2017 budget by 14% on July 26, the latest company to curtail spending due to weak commodity prices.
Whiting said it would cut spending to $950 million this year from a prior estimate of $1.1 billion. Most of that will be spent in North Dakota, though some will be used in the company's Colorado operations.
Fellow North Dakota producer Hess Corp. (NYSE: HES) slashed its 2017 spending earlier on July 26.
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"One of our priorities is to maintain a strong balance sheet while delivering high returns and sustainable growth to investors," Whiting CEO Jim Volker said in a statement.
Whiting also posted its eighth consecutive quarterly loss, as production slipped.
Shares of the Denver-based company fell 4.2% to $5 in after-hours trading. The company's stock had fallen, as of close July 26, about 57% this year to date.
Whiting posted a net loss of $66 million, or 18 cents per share, compared to a net loss of $301 million, or $1.33 per share, in the year-ago period.
Excluding one-time items, Whiting lost 18 cents per share. By that measure, analyst expected a loss of 19 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Production fell 16% to 112,660 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
Whiting plans to hold a conference call with executives to discuss quarterly results the morning of July 27.
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