As crude prices slide toward $25 a barrel, many oil companies have little choice but to start making the steep cost cuts they have avoided up until now, jettisoning every well that can’t break even or isn’t needed to keep the lights on. “Folks are coming to grips with the reality,” said Dennis Cassidy, managing director at consulting firm Alix Partners, of the 20-month-and counting oil bust that many now fear will wipe out profits in 2016. U.S. and Canadian producers are losing at least $350 million a day at current prices, according to an AlixPartners analysis. Some Canadian companies are now warning they may be forced to shut down older oil-sands sites if prices fall even further. The U.S. benchmark oil price lost $1.24 a barrel Thursday to settle at $26.21, down nearly 30% since the start of the year. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell 78 […]