Oil and gas producer Hess Corp boosted its five-year production forecast on Monday, citing strength in output from North Dakota’s Bakken shale formation and the Utica shale in Ohio. The bullish forecast, though, is based on crude oil prices much higher than current levels, an ambitious target that implies strong confidence that prices will rebound from recent steep falls. “Our company is uniquely positioned with our resilient portfolio of high quality assets and strong balance sheet to provide low risk production growth and generate free cash flow under various price scenarios,” Chief Executive John Hess said in a statement. The company expects its production to grow 6 to 10 percent each year through 2018, an uptick from its previous forecast of 5 to 8 percent growth. The new estimates are based on Brent oil prices around $90 to $100 per barrel, far above […]