World Headquarters now in OKC,Harold Hamm CEO of Continental Resources say's he expects his company to triple in size within Five years,Article say's CR may be Devon's size within Five years barring a drop in barrel prices!Looks like OKC might have another giant Oil/Nat gas company in it's downtown!http://blogs.forbes.com/christopherh...rtner=yahootix (http://blogs.forbes.com/christopherhelman/2011/06/27/tycoon-says-north-dakota-oil-field-will-yield-24-billion-barrels-among-worlds-biggest/?partner=yahootix)

:congrats:

The next few years are shaping up to be very good ones for OKC. I am sorry for Enid's loss of Continental but glad they remained in state.

Here's to hoping they outgrow Mid-America Tower in five years and we get a new skyscraper.

Seems fitting that CLR should have its own thread, too.

ContinentalRes Oklahoma 1Q EPS 38c >CLR 05/02

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North Dakota Bakken Daily Production Increases 107 Percent

EBITDAX Increases 69 Percent to $454.5 Million in First Quarter of 2012

Company Expects 2012 Production Growth of 47 Percent to 50 Percent on Increased

Capital Expenditures

OKLAHOMA CITY, May 2, 2012 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/--Continental Resources, Inc. reported production of 85,526 Boepd (barrels of oil equivalent per day) for the first quarter of 2012, a 66 percent increase over production of 51, 663 Boepd for the first quarter of 2011.


The Company's first quarter 2012 production of 85,526 Boepd was 14 percent higher than production of 75,219 Boepd for the fourth quarter of 2011.

Continental entered May 2012 with production in excess of 91,000 Boepd, benefiting from strong well results throughout the Bakken and Anadarko Woodford of Oklahoma.

"Along with good well performance, the two factors driving our results are faster drilling cycle times and our increased working interest ownership in Bakken wells," said Harold Hamm, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

He noted the Company has reduced spud-to-spud drilling cycle times for Bakken wells by approximately 30 percent in the last six months.

Additionally, by acquiring almost 46,000 net acres in targeted areas of the North Dakota Bakken since mid-2011, the Company increased its average net working interest in both operated and non-operated wells. "Through successful acquisitions, we increased and concentrated our ownership in the play," Mr. Hamm said. "This acquired acreage is in prime areas where we have significant operating history."

With higher average working interest has come an increased need for additional development and capital investment. "Faster cycle times and increased ownership are enabling us to accelerate development of our acreage without adding rigs," he said.

Continental experienced strong year-over-year production growth across its three principal operating areas, the Bakken, Anadarko Woodford, and the Red River Units of Montana, and North and South Dakota.

-- Bakken production increased 88 percent to 48,024 Boepd in the first
quarter of 2012, compared with 25,523 in the first quarter of 2011.

-- Production in the North Dakota Bakken was 41,895 Boepd in the first
quarter of 2012, a 107 percent increase over production of 20,238 in the
first quarter of 2011. Montana Bakken production increased 16 percent to
6,129 Boepd in the first quarter of 2012, compared with the first quarter
of 2011.

-- The Company's Anadarko Woodford production was 12,826 Boepd, nearly five
times higher than production of 2,685 Boepd in the first quarter of 2011.

-- Production in the Red River Units was 15,415 Boepd for the first quarter
of 2012, a 10 percent increase over production of 14,066 Boepd for the
first quarter of 2011.

Three acquisitions completed since mid-2011 had a minimal impact on first quarter 2012 production, after the effect of the Company's $84 million sale of its Worland, WY properties and associated production in early 2012. The net combined effect of the acquisitions and sale is an increase in production of approximately 800 Boepd going forward.

Continental currently has 35 operated drilling rigs, with 24 in the Bakken, 10 in the Anadarko Woodford, and one in the Red River Units. This compares with a peak of 44 operated rigs in the fourth quarter of 2011. "The biggest reduction has been in the Woodford, where we've reduced our operated rigs from 16 to 10," Mr. Hamm said.

EBITDAX of $454.5 million for the first quarter of 2012 was 69 percent higher than EBITDAX of $268.7 million for the first quarter of 2011. For the Company's definition and reconciliation of EBITDAX to net income, see "Non-GAAP Financial Measures -- EBITDAX" at the end of this press release.

After accounting for an unrealized mark-to-market loss on derivatives, Continental reported net income of $69.1 million, or $0.38 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2012. Net income included a $129.1 million pre-tax unrealized loss on mark-to-market derivative instruments, a $29.9 million pre- tax property impairment charge, and a $49.6 million pre-tax gain on sales of assets. Excluding the combined effects of the non-cash, unrealized derivatives loss, property impairment charge and gain on asset sales, Continental's net income would have been $0.76 per diluted share for the first quarter of 2012. For the reconciliation of this result to GAAP earnings per share, see "Non-GAAP Financial Measures -- Adjusted earnings per share" at the end of this press release.

For the first quarter of 2011, Continental reported a net loss of $137.2 million, or $0.80 per diluted share. Excluding the combined effects of a non- cash, unrealized derivatives loss, a property impairment charge, and a gain on sale of assets, the Company's net income would have been $0.53 per diluted share for the first quarter of 2011. For the reconciliation of this result to GAAP earnings per share, see "Non-GAAP Financial Measures -- Adjusted earnings per share" at the end of this press release.

Increased 2012 Capital Expenditures and Growth Rate

Continental is increasing its 2012 capital expenditure budget to $2.3 billion, excluding acquisitions, to continue development of recently acquired acreage and to fund accelerated drilling due to faster cycle times. Resulting production growth from these expenditures is expected to range from 47 percent to 50 percent for the year.

The Company's previous 2012 capital expenditures budget was $1.75 billion, with 88 percent of the budget allocated to drilling. The budget envisioned the Company participating in completing 759 gross (249 net) wells in 2012. Company- operated wells represented 325 gross (214 net) wells in the initial 2012 plan.

Under the revised 2012 capital expenditures budget, Continental plans to participate in completing 842 gross (300 net) wells this year. Company-operated wells represent 342 gross (240 net) wells in the revised 2012 plan. Nearly all of the additional 2012 Company-operated wells are planned for the Bakken play.

Operating and Financial Results

Crude oil accounted for 70 percent of Continental's first quarter 2012 total production.

Crude oil and natural gas sales were $552.3 million for the first quarter of 2012, compared with $326.5 million for the same period of 2011.

Continental's average realized crude oil price was $90.58 per barrel in the first quarter of 2012, while the average realized natural gas price was $4.48 per Mcf, yielding a blended realized price of $71.39 per Boe. In the first quarter of 2011, the Company reported a blended realized price of $71.14 per Boe.

The Company's crude oil price differential was $12.27 per barrel and its natural gas price differential was a premium of $1.76 per Mcf for the first quarter of 2012, due to the high liquids content of the gas. A spike in oil price differentials at the Clearbrook, MN and Guernsey, WY markets negatively affected realized prices for March and April 2012, but differentials at these markets have since improved. Due to increased oil differentials and volatility at Clearbrook, MN and Guernsey, WY, the Company expects average differentials for the year will be in a range of $9 to $11 per barrel.

Production expense was $5.18 per Boe for the first quarter of 2012, down from $6.38 per Boe for the first quarter of 2011. General and administrative expense was $3.23 per Boe, compared with $3.56 per Boe for the first quarter of 2011.

Capital expenditures for the first quarter of 2012 were $1.0 billion, including $345 million invested in lease and production acquisitions. The Company's Worland, WY property sale added back $84 million in proceeds.

As of March 31, 2012, the Company's balance sheet included $43 million in cash and cash equivalents and $1.9 billion in total long-term debt. Total long-term debt at March 31, 2012 included $176 million in borrowings under Continental's revolving credit facility. Commitments under the facility are $1.25 billion, and its total borrowing base is $2.25 billion.

The Bakken

Bakken production of 48,024 Boepd accounted for 56 percent of total Continental production, compared with 49 percent of total production in the first quarter last year.

The Company participated in completing 103 gross wells in the Bakken in the first quarter of 2012.

In terms of Company-operated wells, Continental completed 54 gross (36 net) operated wells during the first quarter of 2012, with 47 gross (30 net) in North Dakota and 7 gross (6 net) in Montana. Initial one-day test production rates for Company-operated wells in North Dakota averaged approximately 947 Boepd.

The Company currently has 24 operated drilling rigs in the Bakken, with 21 in North Dakota and three in Montana. Four of Continental's operated rigs are drilling multi-well ECO-Pad(R) projects in North Dakota, and that total is expected to increase throughout the remainder of the year.

Continental completed three ECO-Pad projects in late December 2011, and consequently did not complete a multi-well project during the first quarter ended March 31, 2012. The ECO-Pad design involves drilling four wells on two adjoining 1,280-acre spacing units from a single drilling pad. This approach reduces well costs, as well as reducing the surface impact of each well.

In April 2012, the Company completed the Candee-Kukla ECO-Pad project, which was comprised of the Candee 2-9H and 3-9H (56% WI) wells and the Kukla 2-16H and 3-16H (56% WI) wells in Dunn County, ND. The four wells produced a total 5,913 Boepd in their initial one-day test periods, for an average of 1,478 Boepd per well. Continental expects to complete at least two more ECO-Pad projects by the end of the second quarter of 2012.

At March 31, 2012, Continental's acreage position in the Bakken totaled 938, 940 net acres, with 684,109 net acres leased in the North Dakota portion of the play and 254,831 net acres in the Montana Bakken.

The Woodford Play

Highlighting the Company's Anadarko Woodford operations in the first quarter was the completion of the Tom's 1-21XH (84% WI) in Blaine County in January 2012. The Tom's 1-21XH was the first multiple-unit spaced well drilled in Oklahoma, and its horizontal section was twice the length of previous Anadarko Woodford wells drilled in the play. The Tom's 1-21XH flowed 1,270 Boepd (76% oil) in its initial one-day test period.

Continental expects longer laterals in the Anadarko Woodford will have a significant, positive impact on well productivity and economics. It is currently completing its second multiple-unit well.

Overall, Continental participated in completing 21 gross wells in the Anadarko Woodford in the first quarter of 2012. In terms of operated wells, Continental completed 12 gross (9 net) wells in the quarter. Initial one-day test production rates for Company-operated wells in the Anadarko Woodford averaged approximately 728 Boepd.

Continental currently has eight operated rigs in the Southeast Cana section of the Anadarko Woodford and two in the Northwest Cana, all of which are focused on crude oil and liquids-rich areas.

In the Arkoma Woodford of Oklahoma, the Company's production was 3,637 Boepd in the first quarter of 2012, compared with 4,065 Boepd in the first quarter of 2011. Continental has suspended drilling in the Arkoma Woodford due to the low price for dry gas.

At March 31, 2012, the Company had 280,610 net acres leased in the Anadarko Woodford and 36,729 in the Arkoma Woodford.

The Red River Units

The Company's production in the Red River Units increased to 15,415 Boepd in the first quarter of 2012, a 10 percent increase over production of 14,066 Boepd in the first quarter of 2011. "Much of the improvement was in the Buffalo Units in South Dakota, where we've been increasing our injection volumes over the past year," Mr. Hamm said. "We're seeing excellent results in this enhanced oil recovery project."

Niobrara Play (Colorado and Wyoming)

In the Niobrara/DJ Basin, Continental completed the Buchner 1-2H (82% WI) in Weld County, CO, during the first quarter of 2012. The Buchner 1-2H produced 910 Boepd (90 percent oil) in its initial one-day test period.

As previously announced, the Company completed the Staudinger 1-31H (56% WI) in January 2012, which produced 739 Boepd in its initial one-day test production period.

"We're currently assessing results for our first nine Niobrara wells and preparing to initiate the second phase of our development program," Mr. Hamm said.

Continental had 92,842 net acres in the Niobrara/DJ Basin at March 31, 2012, with approximately 25,000 net acres in the identified oil fairway of the play.

First Quarter 2012 Earnings Conference Call

The Company plans to host a conference call on Thursday, May 3 at 10 a.m. ET to discuss its results for the quarter. Those wishing to listen to the conference call may do so via the Company's web site at www.CLR.com or by phone:

Dial in: 888-679-8035
Pass code: 24687880

All that activity in North Dakota got my company a project, we are doing a complete new terminal complex for the Minot International Airport.

That’s prosperity at work for you

Minot has an international airport?

Minot has an international airport?

no international flights .. but they have customs service on sight

All that activity in North Dakota got my company a project, we are doing a complete new terminal complex for the Minot International Airport.

Used to live there actually, from 1991-1993. Dad was in the air force so we were transferred there from Alaska. The place was COLD. It snowed every month at least once except for June, July, and August when I was there. The people were awesome though. I actually remember flying out of that airport and it seemed a lot bigger and busier than for what you would expect a town that size.

Minot has an international airport?

In the same sense that Tulsa and Des Moines have international airports and Oklahoma City has a "world" airport.

Used to live there actually, from 1991-1993. Dad was in the air force so we were transferred there from Alaska. The place was COLD. It snowed every month at least once except for June, July, and August when I was there. The people were awesome though. I actually remember flying out of that airport and it seemed a lot bigger and busier than for what you would expect a town that size.
We got another Minot project a couple of weeks after the airport was approved, a new hanger at that base. It is actually a larger and more expensive project than the new airport terminal building.

They announced their earnings yesterday and they were below the analysts estimate. Their stock price dropped 15% ($91.82 to $77.75), this is a fairly significant drop considering CHK has dropped by roughly 20% throughout everything that has happened in the past month.

IMHO This is a big deal for the company’s involved and for our nation


Wednesday, May 23, 2012

A researcher looking into whether there’s more oil in North Dakota than is currently known didn’t give a hint during a standing room only session Wednesday at the Williston Basin Petroleum Conference.

In an industry that thrives on chatter, everybody was eager to hear the latest numbers. If the U.S. Geological Survey said it’s too soon to say, a production official with Continental Resources had no such compunction.

Jack Stark, vice president of production for Continental, said his company now estimates there are between

27 billion and 45 billion barrels of recoverable oil in the Bakken and associated formations.

That’s substantially more than it estimated two years ago and more than six times the amount the Geological Survey estimates.


Stark said the company upped its estimate when it discovered that three more layers below the Bakken and Three Forks also are productive.

He said the company has drilled nearly 700 wells into the formation in six years.

Stark said his company believes there are more than 900 billion barrels of oil in place, but only between 3 percent and 5 percent is actually recoverable with today’s technology.

Continental’s numbers are much more aggressive than the research compiled by the U.S. Geological Survey, which might have had top billing in the session lineup, but didn’t provide the most sought-after information.

In 2008, the Geological Survey estimated there are 4 billion barrels of oil in the Bakken. Stephanie Gaswirth, a lead researcher with the U.S. Geological Survey, said it will be another 18 months before a new assessment of Three Forks and a reassessment of the Bakken formation is complete.

Gaswirth said the Three Forks was not assessed in 2008, though it’s clearly a production zone, and new data will provide a better understanding of the Bakken.

The new assessment started in October and involves looking at core samples, production data and geological information, she said.

She said what’s known about the Three Forks so far is that it’s an unconventional zone, like the Bakken: Oil there is harder to extract and carries the same potential for holding a lot of oil.

“It’s possible it could be the same as the Bakken, lower or higher,” she said.

State Geologist Ed Murphy said Continental’s new estimate wasn’t a shock.

He said his agency started learning a year ago that the Bakken formation is sending oil “all down through the system.”

“I would certainly expect that number (Geological Survey’s 4 billion barrels) to go up, but beyond that, we just don’t know. We will be very interested when it comes out,” Murphy said.

Stark said the company had almost a “eureka” moment when it looked at core samples of dolomite layers below the Bakken and Three Forks and realized the oil was deeper than expected.

“It’s amazing how widespread the saturation is,” he said.

He said Continental Resources plans to drill into all the zones and continue to gather data.

“We’re in the very early stages regarding the Three Forks, about where we were with the Bakken in 2008. We’re a long way from understanding it completely,” he said.

Gaswirth said the Three Forks extends miles farther geographically than does the Bakken.

She said one question she hopes to be able to answer is how far the Three Forks produces beyond the boundary of the Bakken. To learn that, oil companies will have to tell her.

“We don’t drill,” Gaswirth said.


Read more: http://bismarcktribune.com/bakken/continental-ups-n-d-state-oil-estimate/article_aa059f94-a548-11e1-9429-001a4bcf887a.html#ixzz1vtOoKOuw

Accounting & Governance Risk Overview: Continental Resources, Inc. 06/04 10:10 AM

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Continental Resources, Inc. is currently rated as having Aggressive Accounting & Governance Risk (AGR), receiving an AGR score that places them in the 12th percentile among all companies in North America rated by GMI (http://www3.gmiratings.com/), indicating higher accounting and governance risk than 88% of the other companies.

This is a great interview done on Thursday 09 Aug 12, with
Continental Resources chairman CEO Harold Hamm.

http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000108103&play=1

From the Wall Street Journal:



Wildcatter Hunts His Next Gusher
9/21/12
By GREGORY ZUCKERMAN

OKLAHOMA CITY—On the national scene, wildcatter Harold Hamm has arrived. The rags-to-riches oil magnate now is one of Mitt Romney's top energy advisers and recently testified in Congress about energy independence.

But on Wall Street, Mr. Hamm's company, Continental Resources Inc., CLR -3.28% is facing questions about whether it can continue trouncing the competition.

Mr. Hamm is among the biggest winners of the continuing boom in U.S. oil-and-gas production. He and his five children own nearly $11 billion of shares of Continental Resources, the largest producer in North Dakota's oil-rich Bakken rock formation, up from about $2 billion just five years ago. Mr. Hamm's family collectively is wealthier than Mark Zuckerberg, Stephen Schwarzman and the estate of Steve Jobs, based on the recent Forbes list.

But lately Continental, the nation's ninth-largest oil producer, is losing a bit of its luster.

The stock is down nearly 12% since a recent high on May 1, even as energy shares and the overall market rose about 4% in that period. Continental remains up around 20% on the year.

Continental shares are up 435% since going public in May 2007, outpacing all other energy companies. But its high valuation now has some investors wary. More fundamental factors also are weighing on shares, including rising drilling costs and mixed views on how successful Mr. Hamm's next big drilling venture will be.

According to FactSet Research, 45% of analysts polled have "buy" ratings on Continental, compared with 65% for other energy companies. Continental trades at 7.2 times 2013's expected earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda, compared with 5.1 for the industry.

"People are nervous about Continental because it's a high-multiple stock," says Andrew Coleman, an analyst at Raymond James. He has an "outperform" rating on the stock, rather than a "buy," because he expects oil prices to fall over the next year, weighing on profits.

"Investors come out of our sector, then come running back in," said Mr. Hamm, a 66-year-old with auburn hair and a playful grin, in a recent interview at his downtown Oklahoma City offices, which feature cowskin chairs and a cowhide rug. "I look a long way ahead in the business, I want the big fields, the elephants," or huge new oil fields.

Mr. Hamm says he may have found one in a rock formation below the Bakken called the Three Forks, which he says could "redefine" the area.

If he's right, Mr. Hamm could potentially earn billions more. But if production falters, or if the global economy weakens and oil prices fall, Mr. Hamm may regret not selling the company after receiving various approaches in recent years. When oil prices fell 29% from late February through late June, Continental's stock tumbled 33.5%.

Some analysts and investors say the track record on drilling in what's considered "tight" rock formations, such as in the Three Forks, is relatively limited, making it hard to know how much will be extracted.

Some also worry about Continental's spending. Capital expenditures will hit $3 billion this year, according to the company, above its expectations of about $1.8 billion at the start of 2012. The average cost of a well there rose to $9.2 million from $8.5 million in the past year, according to Mr. Hamm, as labor, housing and other drilling expenses have risen in the region. Spending has grown as production has climbed, the company adds.

"Everyone's suffering cost creep. It got out of hand" as production has boomed in the area, Mr. Hamm says.

Mr. Hamm says he is responding by reining in drilling. Continental now operates 26 rigs in the country, down from 44 late last year. Analysts still expect Continental to see production rise as much as 59% this year, as existing wells become more efficient and continue to produce big supplies.

As for oil prices, Mr. Hamm says he doesn't expect a glut and predicts oil prices of $90 to $100 a barrel for the foreseeable future. On Friday, U.S. oil prices settled at $92.89 a barrel.

"The largest part of our growth story is ahead," Mr. Hamm says. More details on that front may be forthcoming: The company says on Oct. 9 it will unveil a five-year plan at an event for investors at its corporate headquarters.

The youngest of 13 children of poor sharecroppers in rural Oklahoma, Mr. Hamm was pumping gas and washing trucks at 17. He started an oil-services company—personally scooping sediment from oil tanks with a long mop—before turning to exploration. He endured 17 straight dry holes in the late 1980s.

After discovering signs of a huge oil find in North Dakota, Mr. Hamm took his company public in May 2007, an offering that received a lukewarm response from investors initially. Shares traded below their IPO price as recently as March 2009.

For years, the limelight was fixed on a fellow Oklahoman, Aubrey McClendon, co-founder of natural-gas giant Chesapeake Energy Corp. CHK +0.21% But as natural-gas prices have tumbled, and the Bakken has proved a success, Continental has overtaken Chesapeake in market capitalization and Mr. Hamm's profile has grown.

A victory by Mr. Romney could give a new boost to Continental and Mr. Hamm, who has given nearly $1 million to a "super PAC" supporting Mr. Romney's campaign. The Republican candidate has defended retaining tax incentives for exploration companies and favors allowing states to regulate the controversial drilling technique called "fracking," used in the Bakken and elsewhere.

In 2011, Continental and other oil companies faced charges by the Justice Department for allegedly killing birds, in Continental's case a Say's Phoebe, in the Bakken. The charges later were dropped. Mr. Hamm says a Romney administration would be less likely to pursue these kinds of charges. A spokesman for the Justice Department declined to comment.

Continental has been hurt because there isn't enough pipeline to deliver Bakken crude to its markets. That has kept oil prices below benchmark national levels.

Mr. Romney is expected to encourage new pipelines, which face resistance from some environmentalists. Mr. Hamm once supported a lobbying group that opposed the Keystone XL pipeline, but reversed his stance after the operator, TransCanada Corp., agreed to carry U.S. oil along with Canadian oil.

"It's not about us," Mr. Hamm says, explaining his active backing of the Republican. "Gov. Romney will encourage investment to build infrastructure we need as a nation."

This is significant for CLR and for shareholders and for the state of Oklahoma.
Continental Resources unveils Oklahoma oil field | NewsOK.com (http://newsok.com/continental-resources-unveils-oklahoma-oil-field/article/3717488?custom_click=pod_lead_business)
Continental Resources unveils Oklahoma oil field
Continental Resources on Tuesday announced a new oil play in southern Oklahoma. Known as the SCOOP, the oil-rich shale rock is the source of some of the state's oldest oil fields, including those tapped by the Phillips, Noble, Hefner and Skelly families, Continental said Continental Resources Inc. on Tuesday unveiled its newest oil field in an area of southern Oklahoma that has produced some of the state's richest discoveries.

The South Central Oklahoma Oil Province, known at Continental as SCOOP, covers much of four counties in south central Oklahoma. The rock is an oil-rich portion of the Woodford Shale that lies beneath oil fields tapped by some of the state's biggest oil names, including Phillips, Noble, Hefner and Skelly.

“It's a huge opportunity for the company and another great asset for us because we're looking at an asset with rates of return that compete head-to-head with what we're doing in the Bakken” in North Dakota and Montana, said Jack Stark, Continental's senior vice president of exploration.

“With that as another opportunity that is widespread and repeatable, it gives us one more avenue of growth that has as much upside potential as we see in the Bakken.”

Continental made the announcement at its investor day presentation at the Cox Business Center in downtown Oklahoma City. The play includes parts of Carter, Stephens, Grady and Garvin counties.

The new field shares many similarities with Continental's biggest and best-known production area. Because of those similarities, the company already has an advantage in southern Oklahoma, Stark said.

“Technology transfer is a huge part of this business right now,” he said. “We're accessing what were once considered just source rock. To be able to do that takes technology.

“Anything we learn on one resource play can be transferred to the next play. There's always some adjustment here and there, but the bottom line is the technology we have perfected in the Bakken is directly transferrable to what we're doing here in the Woodford.”

At the end of 2010, Continental had 94,000 acres in the area with 3 percent held by production. Today, the company has more than 170,000 acres with 23 percent held by production, including 34 wells Continental has drilled in the area.

The new field drew praise from analysts and investors attending the presentation.

“I think the SCOOP will be interesting,” said Gail Nicholson, an analyst with KLR Group in Tampa, Fla. “I don't think the market has included that potential in the stock price. People think of Continental as the Bakken. Coming out and explaining the oil potential of the SCOOP will cause people to start to think about what's there. They have a good acreage position there. They're ahead of the game.”

While Continental executives touted the new field as an area of future potential, the Bakken will continue to be the company's primary focus, Stark said.

“We call the Bakken the king of the tight oil fields,” Stark said. “It is so large and just like other good fields, it keeps getting bigger. We think the Bakken should be used as a template or standard for oil field development.”

Continental is the largest producer, driller and leaseholder in the Bakken. The company produced 22.2 million barrels of oil over the past year, has 576 net wells in the region and has identified at least 4,000 potential wells.

The increased position in both the Bakken and in southern Oklahoma is expected to help the company continue to grow, CEO Harold Hamm said.

Hamm set a new goal of again tripling its production to 108 million barrels of oil equivalent and proved reserves to more than 1.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent by the end of 2017.

Analyst Andrew Coleman said he was pleased to hear that Continental will fund its increased drilling budget without taking on large amounts of debt.

“Continental is one of my favorite stocks,” said Coleman, an analyst with Raymond James in Houston. “The pushback I get from investors is that they are spending a lot of money. But anytime you can get the growth out of the market without stretching the balance sheet, it's the right approach.”

Good for Continental. I hope Oklahoma City, and all of Oklahoma, can reap the benefits of this.

The good news is that unlike the Bakken there is already a good amount of existing supporting infrastructure in the area.
But more will be needed.

Also, most people living in the area are already familiar with the industry and are very comfortable with operations.
Many make their living in the energy industry.

At a minimum it will mean millions in state tax revenue.
Millions for mineral rights owners and millions for many new high wage jobs. As long as oil prices don’t collapse this is prosperity.

With all the new oil & natural gas production from various source passing through our state it would be wise for states leadership to push for the development of facility’s that added value to these resources.

We could add billions to our state’s economy and add thousands of new high wage jobs.
Right now we are really missing out on a gigantic opportunity.

With all the new oil & natural gas production from various source passing through our state it would be wise for states leadership to push for the development of facility’s that added value to these resources.

We could add billions to our state’s economy and add thousands of new high wage jobs.
Right now we are really missing out on a gigantic opportunity.

What exactly do you think the state could do to capitalize on the opportunity you feel is being missed? I'm not familiar with this industry and am not sure what we're missing.

What exactly do you think the state could do to capitalize on the opportunity you feel is being missed? I'm not familiar with this industry and am not sure what we're missing.

Somebody with economic development experience would know better than myself about how the state could help. The state could offer special state incentives that would be negotiated.

Oklahoma is unique in that it has some of the world’s best concentration of large diameter raw crude oil pipelines. As far as I can determine the products could be anything that’s made from raw crude or natural gas. Most of the oil is of good to high quality, making it cheaper and easier to process.

The Cushing hub offers cost advantages that others have difficulty matching and as crude production numbers increases in the mid-continent area these advantages should continue. Oklahoma’s economy rises and falls with the energy prices. By building products from raw crude oil and natural gas we add value to the product. But when oil and NG prices are low these products frequently become more profitable. We could help cushion the state from poor economic times caused by extremely low energy prices and at the same time add new high wage jobs.

We have good rail and road options along with barge options. However we would probably need more product pipeline capacity.

Somebody with economic development experience would know better than myself about how the state could help. The state could offer special state incentives that would be negotiated.

Oklahoma is unique in that it has some of the world’s best concentration of large diameter raw crude oil pipelines. As far as I can determine the products could be anything that’s made from raw crude or natural gas. Most of the oil is of good to high quality, making it cheaper and easier to process.

The Cushing hub offers cost advantages that others have difficulty matching and as crude production numbers increases in the mid-continent area these advantages should continue. Oklahoma’s economy rises and falls with the energy prices. By building products from raw crude oil and natural gas we add value to the product. But when oil and NG prices are low these products frequently become more profitable. We could help cushion the state from poor economic times caused by extremely low energy prices and at the same time add new high wage jobs.

We have good rail and road options along with barge options. However we would probably need more product pipeline capacity.

Doesn't Oklahoma already provide a huge tax break for drilling? I recall a few years ago George Kaiser spoke to the Legislature about removing it, saying it was unnecessary to encourage drilling.

The article doesn't mention where this discovery is. Do you know which three counties it is?

Doesn't Oklahoma already provide a huge tax break for drilling? I recall a few years ago George Kaiser spoke to the Legislature about removing it, saying it was unnecessary to encourage drilling.

The article doesn't mention where this discovery is. Do you know which three counties it is?

The map in the picture had the field from about the South Canadian River down to the Red River in Southwest central Oklahoma. I'd say that from Chickasha to Duncan would be the center of activity.

Id be willing to bet CR will be building a new corporate tower in the next 5 years or so.

Doesn't Oklahoma already provide a huge tax break for drilling?

Drilling is a totally separate issue.

This would take us beyond drilling to more processing and refining activities and the products they produce.
With some of these products we could manufacture other value added products at cost competitive prices.
This is already being done in Oklahoma but just not nearly enough IMHO.

If they keep progressing at the rate they are progressing, they'll be a Fortune 500 company before the decade turns.

As you read this please remember CLR is the largest acreage holder in the Bakken.
This will do good things for CLR and OKC.
Is Bakken set to rival Ghawar? John Kemp | Reuters (http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/09/us-column-kemp-usoil-bakken-idUSBRE8A816H20121109?feedType=RSS&feedName=PersonalFinance&rpc=43)

Fri Nov 9, 2012 11:48am EST

(John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)

By John Kemp

LONDON (Reuters) - Could oil production from the Bakken formation in North Dakota and Montana rival output from Saudi Arabia's supergiant Ghawar oilfield, the greatest oil-bearing structure the world has ever known?

Until recently, comparisons between the shale fields of the Bakken and Ghawar, which produces 5 million barrels per day, would have been dismissed as fanciful.

But Bakken's exponential growth and enormous reserves put it on course to produce more than 1 million barrels per day by the middle of next year, which will earn it a place in the small pantheon of truly elite oil fields.

Ghawar accounts for nearly half of Saudi Arabia's total declared capacity of 12.5 million barrels per day and has produced more than 65 billion barrels of oil since 1951.

Ghawar is one of only six super-giant oil fields that have produced more than 1 million barrels per day at their peak. Others are Burgan (Kuwait), Cantarell (Mexico), Daqing (China) and in the 1970s and 1980s Samotlor (Russia) and Kirkuk (Iraq).

Discovered in 1948, and just 174 miles long by no more than 31 miles wide, Ghawar is an extraordinary structure.

"It is unlikely that any new oilfield will ever rival the bounteous production Ghawar has delivered to Saudi Arabia and the international petroleum markets," energy expert Matthew Simmons explained in "Twilight in the Desert", his controversial 2005 book about Saudi Arabia's diminishing oil reserves.

No other super-giant has been discovered in the last 35 years (the last was Cantarell in 1976). Failure to find any more caused Simmons and other experts to worry world oil production was close to peaking in the late 2000s.

THE NEW SUPER-GIANT

But now Bakken has burst onto the scene. Output hit 631,000 barrels per day in August 2012, according to North Dakota's Department of Mineral Resources, up from 256,000 barrels per day in August 2010 and just 83,000 barrels per day in August 2008.

Growth has been exponential (in the true sense of the word). Output has been increasing at a steady rate of about 65 percent a year since late 2009 and shows no sign of slowing (link.reuters.com/vys83t).

If growth continues at this pace for the next 12 months, and there is no reason to think it won't, production will top 1 million barrels a day by August 2013.

Some analysts will complain about the comparison. Ghawar is a conventional field: a single, well-defined accumulation of oil. In contrast, the Bakken is a collection of dozens of small fields in an unconventional "continuous-type" deposit without well defined boundaries.

But the two are not so very different in size. Ghawar covers about 2,000 square miles. The core of the Bakken is 15,000 square miles, according to Continental Resources, one of the pioneering exploration and production companies operating in the area. Rough comparisons are reasonable.

THREE FORKS FORMATION

Bakken is proving to be one of the most prolific oil-producing patches in the world. It continues to outstrip even the most optimistic forecasts.

At the moment the industry has completed just 5,000 wells in the Bakken at an average spacing of less than 1 well per 1,280-acre unit. But Continental estimates the core could support up to 52,000 wells with four to eight wells per 1,280-acre unit for full development.

Bakken contains about 577 billion barrels of oil and gas, of which about 24 billion barrels should be technically recoverable, according to Continental. But underneath Bakken in the same area is the Three Forks formation, which Continental believes could contain an even greater 900 billion barrels, of which perhaps 32 billion barrels might be technically recoverable.

Continental's estimates are probably colored by a developer's natural optimism. But the company has been the leading innovator in what has become North America's hottest oil play, and it has been proven consistently right.

More conservative estimates still show that the combined resources of the Bakken and Three Forks are enormous.

CONVENTIONAL VS CONTINUOUS

In a conventional oil or gas system, hydrocarbons are produced in a source rock and migrate through tiny pores or along fault lines before accumulating in a reservoir rock, from which they are produced.

The source rock must have a high proportion of organic material (typically at least 1-3 percent) to generate petroleum. It must be buried to the correct depth and temperature for the organic material to mature into oil (2000-5500 meters, 60-150 degrees centigrade) or gas (anything deeper than 5500 meters, and hotter than 150 degrees).

There must be sufficient cracks or porosity to allow the produced oil and gas to migrate from the source and accumulate in a reservoir rock. And the reservoir must be sealed by a cap to prevent the oil and gas migrating any further, allowing it to accumulate in sufficient concentrations to be extracted profitably.

Source, maturation, migration, reservoir and trap must all come together in exactly the right sequence. If any one of these elements is missing or occurs in the wrong sequence, oil and gas will not accumulate in a discrete pool.

Bakken, Three Forks and other shale plays are what the United States Geological Survey calls "continuous-type" resources.

In these deposits, the oil and gas is extracted direct from a source rock or a much more extensive reservoir rock nearby.

The Bakken, for example, consists of three layers, known as "members": the upper and lower shales (which are the source of the oil) and a middle sandstone layer (which is the reservoir). Drilling into the shales has been relatively unsuccessful. Most oil is being produced from wells drilled into the middle sandstone member.

BAKKEN CHANGES EVERYTHING

The conditions are less demanding for continuous-type resources than for conventional deposits, which is why shale deposits are distributed much more widely around the world.

The problem, until recently, was that oil and gas could not be extracted profitably from continuous-type resources. Horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing have changed the situation, unlocking oil and gas from previously inaccessible tight rock formations with low porosity and poor flow rates.

Conventional super-giants such as Ghawar may never be discovered again, although exploration is pushing into new areas offshore and in the Arctic. But that may not matter if oil and gas can be wrung from more commonly occurring continuous deposits.

Bakken has a long way to go before production overtakes Ghawar. But the play has already defied most expectations that it will slow. At the very least, Bakken will join the world's largest oil-producing zones next year. In the process, it has changed the oil industry forever.

This is pretty big news for Oklahoma and for CLR


COLUMN-Oklahoma gears up for next big shale play: John Kemp | Reuters (http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/28/column-kemp-shale-oklahoma-idUSL5E8MSCY120121128?feedType=RSS&feedName=rbssEnergyNews&rpc=43)
Wed Nov 28, 2012 11:44am EST
By John Kemp

LONDON Nov 28 (Reuters) - Oklahoma could be on course to see the next big increase in oil and condensates production, following North Dakota and Texas, as innovative drilling companies move in to explore the liquids-rich sections of the Woodford shale under the western half of the state.

Oklahoma is a very old oil producer: the first oil was discovered in 1897, a decade before Oklahoma was admitted to the union.

In recent decades, however, the state's conventional fields have appeared exhausted. Production peaked as long ago as 1927 at 277 million barrels for the year. By 1980, output had fallen to 149 million barrels, sinking to just 58 million barrels in 2010, according to annual production records from the Oklahoma Commerce Commission (OCC).

In 2011, production jumped to 77 million barrels. But Oklahoma still accounted for just 3.8 percent of all oil produced in the United States. Production has been broadly flat at 175,000-200,000 barrels per day (bpd) since the start of the century. Meanwhile, fracking has lifted North Dakota's output from less than 100,000 bpd to more than 700,000 bpd over the same period.

Oklahoma has more than 32,000 oil wells. However, more than 30,000 of them are "stripper" wells producing less than 15 bpd that are marginally economic. Only 163 wells produced more than 100 barrels per day in 2009, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the independent statistical arm of the U.S. Department of Energy.

The state is better known as a natural gas producer. Oklahoma accounted for 8 percent of all U.S. gas output last year, ranking behind Texas and Louisiana. In fact, the state's 52,000 gas wells accounted for almost 30 percent of all the crude and condensate produced in the state in 2009.

But all that may be about to change.


WORLD-CLASS WOODFORD

The western half of Oklahoma lies on top of the Anadarko Basin, a huge sedimentary formation that has already yielded most of Oklahoma's conventional oil and gas.

Now attention is turning to the possibility of unlocking the basin's unconventional resources using the same horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques that have prized millions of barrels of oil and condensates from North Dakota's Bakken and Texas' Eagle Ford.

Specifically, drillers and frackers are now targeting the basin's Woodford shale layer. The Woodford shale is "one of the thickest, best quality resource shale reservoirs in the country," according to Continental Resources, the company which more than any other is associated with the development of the Bakken.

Woodford is up to 400 feet thick, according to Continental, with a rich organic content and which potentially contains enormous amounts of oil and gas in continuous-type unconventional formations.

In terms of area, Woodford (3,300 square miles) is smaller than either the Bakken (13,000 square miles) or Eagle Ford in Texas (5,000 square miles). But it is also much thicker (150-400 feet) than either Bakken (10-250 feet) or Eagle Ford (100-250 feet). The total organic content (6-12 percent) puts it somewhere between Bakken (5-20 percent) and Eagle Ford (3-7 percent).

Woodford contains 400 million barrels of oil that could be recovered, accorded to an estimate by the U.S. Geological Survey published in 2010, and another 250 million barrels of valuable condensates, as well as plenty of associated gas. Continental is even more bullish about potential ultimate recoveries.


FOCUSING ON THE SCOOP

Continental has featured the most prospective area of the Woodford shale, a section that it calls the South Central Oklahoma Oil Province, SCOOP, as one of its two favoured plays alongside the Bakken in recent presentations to investors, underlining its importance to the company.

Continental has been leasing oil and gas rights in the Woodford even faster than in the Bakken to exploit it. Between 2009 and October 2012, Continental increased its net acreage in the Anadarko-Woodford area by 113 percent from 149,000 to 316,000 acres, compared with a 51 percent rise in net Bakken acres from 645,000 to 915,000.

Because of the divergence between oil and gas prices, the company has focused on the oil-rich and condensate-rich parts of the shale ("fairways") in the east, which lie under Grady, McClain, Garvin, Stephens and Carter counties, rather than the gas-rich areas further to the west.

Continental claims wells in the oil fairway have yielded as much as 75-85 percent liquids (crude plus condensate) while liquids yields from the condensate fairway have been about 60 percent.

It has drilled or participated in 35 wells to date and plans to bring the same efficiencies that it pioneered in the Bakken, cutting drilling and fracking times and costs, to the new play.


THE SILENT REVOLUTION

The Woodford play remains in its infancy. The full scale of exploration and development work has been obscured because the state also produces significant amounts of conventional oil and gas. Both have been under pressure because of the plunge in gas prices to less than $4 per million British thermal units and the slide in prices for midcontinent U.S. oil.

Oklahoma oil prices are directly tied to the price of benchmark crudes delivered in-state at Cushing. Average Oklahoma oil prices fell from $102 in March to less than $75 in June, according to the Corporations Commission. The result has been a slowdown in conventional production from stripper wells, which has masked the increase in fracking.

Similarly, the number of drilling rigs active in the state, has remained at around 200, which is roughly similar to the number drilling back in 2008, at the height of the oil and gas boom. But that masks a huge shift from gas-directed to oil-directed drilling. In 2008, some 1,098 oil wells and 2,201 gas wells were completed. By 2011, the numbers were 1,573 and 876.

Other gas producing states, like Louisiana, have seen a sharp drop in the number of active rigs since 2008 as the gas industry responds to a sharp decline in prices. In Oklahoma, however, rigs have simply been shifted from gas to oil plays within the state, which has to some extent hidden the extent of the state's new oil revolution.

More rigs are now drilling in Oklahoma than in any other state apart from Texas. Only North Dakota is even close.

Continental Resources admits that it has kept the full potential of the play relatively quiet until recently while it has secured mineral leases. The company only began to discuss the full potential of the SCOOP/Woodford in its marketing materials in October.

The SCOOP/Woodford formation is even deeper underground than the Bakken and Eagle Ford shales, so wells will be expensive. But the high liquids content should ensure they have high rates of return.

Crucially the shale play is located in many of the same counties that have previously hosted conventional oil fields. The state already has plenty of oil and gas-gathering pipelines and infrastructure to support a fairly rapid increase in output. And the state government is enthusiastic about oil development.

Oklahoma's oil and gas business -- an increasingly complex mix of oil and gas, conventional and unconventional resources -- makes production and drilling statistics hard to interpret.

While the Woodford shale should boost oil drilling and output, the marginal nature of many stripper wells makes conventional output susceptible to any drop in oil prices, and oil output from gas wells will remain under pressure from low natural gas prices.

Nonetheless, the attractive characteristics of the Woodford shale should result in a significant expansion of oil output in the next five years as the play is developed.

There is growing chatter about a possibility of a CLR buy out of KOG.

My gut feeling is that Hamm and CLR would know the value of KOG more than anyone else!

As in Kodiak Oil and Gas?

Kodiak is currently in Denver and only has a small number of employees, as in less than 10 at their HQ.

Still, acquiring their assets would certainly help CLR continue to grow.

KOG has a current market cap of 2.51Billion
CLR’s current market cap is 14.86 Billion.

KOG has excellent Bakken acreage positions that have been getting generally great results in spite of the fact that they have been mostly drilling to hold their acreage positions and not drilling many of their so called sweat spots.
According to some this makes KOG a likely take over target. If CLR doesn’t buy KOG, sooner or later someone will. They have significant future value to whoever buys them IMHO. Since I own KOG I am hoping for an old fashion bidding war but that would probably be asking way too much. LOL

http://seekingalpha.com/article/1100...s?source=yahoo

Determining A Reasonable Takeover Price For Kodiak Oil And Gas


On Monday shares of Bakken oil producer Kodiak Oil and Gas (KOG) surged late in the day on some unusually heavy volume.

The reason for the surge apparently is that the company cancelled an appearance from an upcoming conference suggesting that it may be taken out before the conference date.

With shares at $9.40 I thought I'd have a look at what investors may be able to expect for a takeover price. The best comparable metric is the takeover of Bakken pure-player Brigham Exploration which occurred just over a year ago when it was acquired by Statoil (STO).

So let's compare.

Statoil paid $36.50 per share for Brigham Exploration. That equates to an enterprise value of $4.7 billion.
Kodiak has an enterprise value as follows:
Shares outstanding -- 263 million
• Most recent closing stock price -- $9.40
• Market Capitalization -- $2.472 billion
Total debt outstanding -- $915 million
• Enterprise Value -- $3.387 billion
Price Per Flowing Barrel
• Brigham Exploration was producing 21,000 boe/day. With a $4.7 billion enterprise valuation that equates to $223,000 per flowing barrel.
• Kodiak's exit rate production figure is expected to be 27,000 boe/day. If Kodiak gets taken out at the same price per flowing barrel as Brigham that would be a share price of:
• Calculate total price paid - $223,000 x 27,000 = $6 billion
• Less Debt Outstanding - $915 million
• Equals Proceeds For Shareholders - Roughly $5 billion
• Divided By The Number of Shares Outstanding - 263 million
• Price Per Share - $19.01


Multiple of EBITA
For the six months ended June 30, 2011 prior to its acquisition Brigham had an EBITA of $137 million. On an annual basis that would be roughly $280 million. That would be an EBITA multiple of $4.7 billion / $280 million = 16.79 times
For the nine months ending Sep 30, 2012 Kodiak had EBITA of $220 million which annualized would be about $300 million. At Brigham's 16.79 takeover multiple Kodiak would be taken out at roughly $5 billion ($300 million x 16.79), which again is $19.01 per share.

Multiple of Proved Reserves
Brigham (as of the December 2010 reserve report) has 67 million barrels of proved reserves. A $4.7 billion valuation suggests Statoil is paying $4.7 billion / 67 million = $70 per barrel of proved reserves
Kodiak (as of the June 2012 reserve report) has 70 million barrels of proved reserves. At Brigham's $70 per barrel multiple of proved reserves Kodiak would be taken out at….you guessed it roughly $5 billion ($70 per barrel x 70 million barrels.
Again, this is $19 per share.


Other Considerations
The Brigham deal multiples clearly point to about $19 per share for Kodiak. There are of course other considerations such as the amount of acreage each company has, the quality of that acreage, and ability to finance future development.
Because of that I don't think Kodiak would go for the same multiples as Brigham, but I think the mid-point between the current share price ($9.40) and the Brigham price ($19.00) might be realistic. That would be $13 to $14 per share which is still a good premium to the current share price.

Now I guess we just wait and see if the takeover chatter amounts to something.

Where are you hearing its CLR? I poked around and only saw Exxon Mobil as the company mentioned.

Where are you hearing its CLR? I poked around and only saw Exxon Mobil as the company mentioned.

It’s just chatter at this point, not close to be set in stone…. but it’s being talk about on the KOG Yahoo message board. KOG closed down .04 after being up most of the day. Could be a case of manipulation.

XOM has been talked about as another rumored buyer of KOG for several months.

Very good report for CLR

Continental Resources Increases Proved Reserves 54 Percent To 785 MMBoe - Yahoo! Finance (http://finance.yahoo.com/news/continental-resources-increases-proved-reserves-221700692.html)

OKLAHOMA CITY, Jan. 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Continental Resources, Inc. (CLR) increased its year-end 2012 proved reserves to 785 MMBoe (million barrels of oil equivalent), a year-over-year gain of 54 percent. With the 2012 increase, Continental has grown proved reserves at a compound annual growth rate of 45 percent since year-end 2009.
Continental's 2012 proved reserves had a net present value discounted at 10 percent (PV-10) of $13.3 billion, a 45 percent increase over the PV-10 of $9.2 billion for proved reserves at year-end 2011.

Proved reserves growth in 2012 primarily reflected strong production growth in the Bakken play of North Dakota and Montana, which Continental believes is the nation's premier oil play. Continental is the largest producer and leaseholder in the Bakken, with approximately 1.1 million net acres. The Company has also accelerated production growth in its South Central Oklahoma Oil Province (SCOOP), an oil- and liquids-rich play in Oklahoma.

Thirty-nine percent of Continental's total 2012 proved reserves, or 309.0 MMBoe, were proved developed producing (PDP), compared with 40 percent of year-end 2011 proved reserves.

Crude oil reserves represented 72 percent of 2012 total proved reserves, a significant increase over year-end 2011, when crude oil accounted for 64 percent of the Company's 508 MMBoe in proved reserves. The higher percentage of crude oil proved reserves in 2012 was accomplished despite two crude-oil concentrated divestitures.

Continental currently operates 85 percent of its total proved reserves, compared with 86 percent at year-end 2011.

"We continue to increase our concentration in high-value, high-growth, crude oil assets, especially in the Bakken," said Harold Hamm, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "We are growing the value of our Bakken assets through strategic acquisitions, exploration, and the expanded use of pad drilling, which should improve efficiencies and translate into even better rates of return."

Through acquisitions and leasing, Continental increased its Bakken leasehold by 24 percent in the past year, from 915,863 net acres at year-end 2011 to 1,139,799 net acres at year-end 2012.

The Company is also leveraging the increased demand for high-quality Bakken crude oil at U.S. refineries. "We have more than adequate pipe and rail capacity out of the basin at this time, so we can move our production to the most advantageous markets," Mr. Hamm said. "Realizing the Bakken's full potential is essential to our five-year plan to triple production and proved reserves by year-end 2017, while increasing operating margins."

Strong Production Growth
Continental's 2012 production totaled 35.7 MMBoe, a 58 percent increase over production of 22.6 MMBoe for 2011, in line with the Company's production growth guidance for 2012.

Estimated fourth quarter 2012 production was 9.8 MMBoe, or 106,831 Boe per day, a 42 percent increase over fourth quarter production for 2011. The Company deferred some fourth quarter well completions to stay within its capital expenditure budget for 2012. Fourth quarter 2012 was the 19th consecutive quarter in which Continental has increased production compared with the immediately previous quarter.

Based on continued production growth, as well as an acquisition and a divestiture announced December 20, 2012, Continental's current production is approximately 116,000 Boepd.

Increased Proved Reserves
Continental's 2012 proved reserves in the Bakken totaled 564 MMBoe, almost double proved reserves in the play at year-end 2011. The Company's Bakken proved reserves had a PV-10 of $9.9 billion at year-end 2012.

Other significant components of year-end 2012 proved reserves included the SCOOP play in Oklahoma, with proved reserves of 63 MMBoe (PV-10 of $955 million) and the Red River Units, where proved reserves increased in the past year to 78 MMBoe (PV-10 of $2.0 billion).

Exploration and development activity was the primary driver in the Company's 2012 proved reserves growth, adding 234 MMBoe of proved reserves in the year, of which 27 percent were PDP and the remainder PUDs (proved undeveloped reserves). In total, a reconciliation of 2012 proved reserves included:

http://info.drillinginfo.com/urb/woodford/files/2012/10/CLR-OK-Permits-530x391.png (http://info.drillinginfo.com/urb/woodford/files/2012/10/CLR-OK-Permits.png)

South Central Oklahoma Oil Province aka ?SCOOP? | Woodford (http://info.drillinginfo.com/urb/woodford/operators/2012/10/south-central-oklahoma-oil-province-aka-scoop/)

Couple of mentions of Continental Resources in this http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/03/magazine/north-dakota-went-boom.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=business NY Times article about the boom in drilling in North Dakota's Bakken Formation.


In the fall of 2011*in Crosby, N.D., Continental Resources, the oil company with the most acreage leased in the basin, erected a self-congratulatory granite monument celebrating its work in the so-called Bakken Formation, the Williston Basin rocks that, as Continental put it, ushered in “a new era in the American oil industry.” The number of rigs drilling new wells in North Dakota’s part of the basin reached a record 218 last May. It has now leveled off at around 200, as thousands of wells have been completed under deadline pressure to secure expiring mineral leases. Many thousands more will be spudded in the next two years as the boom moves from discovery to production and crews drill “infill” wells, complete pipelines, fortify roads, enlarge refineries and build natural-gas pumping stations and oil-loading train yards.


But oil development, and fracking in particular, raises little of the hue and cry it does in Eastern states sitting above the natural gas in the Marcellus shale. Even a well-publicized investigation by the news Web site ProPublica that reported that there were more than “1,000 accidental releases of oil, drilling wastewater and other fluids” in North Dakota in 2011 passed without much fuss.
A more typical attitude is represented by Harold Hamm, chief executive of Continental Resources. “Why do [critics] always start talking about the challenges?” Hamm said in a speech he gave at Williston Basin Petroleum Conference in Bismarck in May. “What challenges? Spending all the money?” Hamm, who is known as the Baron of the Bakken by virtue of having more than a million acres leased for drilling, led Mitt Romney’s energy committee, which proposed giving states control of oil leases on federal lands.

The SCOOP, can't wait for the chance to frac it. I need some change in scenery. The Anadarko is soooo boring now, lol

Nice read on CLR
Are You Looking for Production and Reserve Growth? (CLR, KOG) (http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/02/11/are-you-looking-for-production-and-reserve-growth.aspx)

This is very good news for this OKC based Co.


Bakken Producers Continental Resources And Whiting Petroleum Beat Q4 Expectations - Seeking Alpha (http://seekingalpha.com/article/1233161-bakken-producers-continental-resources-and-whiting-petroleum-beat-q4-expectations?source=yahoo)

Bakken oil and gas producers Continental Resources (CLR) and Whiting Petroleum (WLL) announced Q4 and full-year 2012 earnings after the close on Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2012. Both companies breezed past Street estimates. Highlighting WLL's results was its assertion that it is the No.1 oil producer in North Dakota.

CLR's Q4 earnings were $1.19 per diluted share compared to a net loss of $0.62 share for the prior-year quarter. This handily beat the average Thomson Reuters estimate of $0.87/share.

Q4 revenue came in at $688.9 million and also beat expectations of $656.8 million.
Continental continued its run of outstanding production growth with Q4 production coming in at 106,831 boe/d -- a 42% increase from fourth-quarter 2011 production. Even better, CLR announced total production in February 2013 is on track to exceed 120,000 Boepd.

Significant new well results included:
Latest Bakken/Three Forks Second Bench well flows at 1,556 boe/d
New SCOOP well flows at 1,761 boe/d

Rail Having a Significant Impact on Realized Prices
Chairman and CEO Harold Hamm commented on the results:
We completed 2012 with an excellent fourth quarter, and growth momentum continues in 2013. Production has increased, and realized oil prices have been strong as we market an increased share of our Bakken production to U.S. coastal markets. We've seen a fundamental change in oil markets with the significant increase in rail transportation capacity out of the Bakken. Improved differentials and lower operated well costs as we continue to drill and complete projects more efficiently point to continued strong cash flow in 2013.
Improved Oil Differentials: A Positive Catalyst Going Forward

CLR's oil differential was $3.21 per barrel for the fourth quarter 2012, a decrease of $6.24 from the third quarter of 2012. As a result of improved realized prices, Continental has reduced its 2013 NYMEX oil differential guidance range to $5 to $7 per barrel, compared with previous guidance of $8 to $11.

The narrowing of the differential makes a huge difference for CLR going forward. For example: If February production comes in at 120,000 boe/d, and the differential between Q4 was $3/barrel less than Q3, that is an extra $360,000/day of increased revenue, or $32.4 million on a quarterly basis. I would assume most of that would go straight to the bottom line.

These results capped of an excellent 2012 for CLR. For the full year, net diluted earnings per share were $4.07 -- up 69% over the $2.41 for FY 2011.

Really curious to hear what their current employee count. Q3 of last year they were already up to 721.

Where did you get that number?

As per the Q4 report to the OKC Economic Development Trust, they had 400 employees.

Perhaps your number is for all of CLR and not just the ones downtown?

Not to be discounted is the fact that companies like CLR typically have contractors working for them that employ hundreds of contract workers who supply CLR with goods and services. Well managed companies usually stay as lean as possible and often use contract workers who are employed by 3 party firms. These workers can be easily let go in the event of a downturn. Liabilities are also reduced.

More on CLR from yesterday's conference call....

Conntinential Resources CC yesterday has revealed some very interesting & exciting information :

* CLR believes that Bakken light sweet crude is going to set a "new benchmark" for light sweet crude & will soon trade at a premium compared to Brent crude.

* Bakken crude is the most ultra-low sulfur crude in the world & will be in big demand for refineries because it will help refineries stay in compliance with the EPA...and also in big demand as it easily refines to high demand fuel such as jet fuel & gasoline. Bakken light sweet came to market early enough so that most refineries didnt have to spend large amounts of money to change over to heavy crude refining..so they will demand bakken crude.

* CLR has discovered that the entire Bakken Petroleum System (all 5 pay zones) are all in the same pressure environment. A recent lower 3-forks bench well they brought on line had pressure of 3200 psi. So CLR believes that this is all one cell with similar pressure..hence, all strong oil recovery.

* CLR says that @ 3.5% Bakken recovery, the system has 24 billion barrels to harvest. At 5% Bakken recovery, the system has 45 billion barrels to harvest, which they think is very achievable.

* CLR says that the area where the 3-forks formation is the thickest & may produce commercially from all 4 zones is 60 miles wide from east to west & 75 miles long from north to south.

* CLR's latest well from the 3rd bench 3~forks formation is on track to produce as much oil as their recent successful 2nd bench well.They have 7 lower bench 3~forks wells waiting on completion as we post & plan to drill 20 lower bench 3~forks wells in 2013. CLR said we should hear about results from the first well drilled in the 4th bench of the 3~forks formation in about 1 month.

CLR and others have plans to drill some Bakken wells on tighter spacing. If this goes as hoped it would be huge news for these companies and for our nation’s energy future on a scale that few would have thought possible just a few short years ago.

Bakken: The Downspacing Bounty And Birth Of 'Array Fracking' - Seeking Alpha (http://seekingalpha.com/article/1248431-bakken-the-downspacing-bounty-and-birth-of-array-fracking?source=yahoo)

CLR just hit an all-time high and now has a market cap of more than Chesapeake and Sandridge combined. Astounding growth.

CLR just hit an all-time high and now has a market cap of more than Chesapeake and Sandridge combined. Astounding growth.

Wowee.

They seem to really have their act together.

And if you notice, Harold Hamm is now the richest person in Oklahoma while Aubrey is no longer on the billionaire list and Tom Ward has never made it.

Wowee.

They seem to really have their act together.

And if you notice, Harold Hamm is now the richest person in Oklahoma while Aubrey is no longer on the billionaire list and Tom Ward has never made it.

Not true. Tom Ward has made the list a handful of times. I believe this was his high mark....

The 400 Richest Americans: #155 Tom Ward - Forbes.com (http://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/54/400list08_Tom-Ward_SDZK.html)

Thanks for the correction.

But the point being, neither he or Aubrey are on it now and their personal fortunes seem to be managed in the same way in which they've run their businesses.


Anyway, Harold Hamm seems to be a much more astute businessman and the results at CLR show that.

Thanks for the correction.

But the point being, neither he or Aubrey are on it now and their personal fortunes seem to be managed in the same way in which they've run their businesses.


Anyway, Harold Hamm seems to be a much more astute businessman and the results at CLR show that.

Agree. Aubrey and Ward probably did everything they could to finagle their way onto the list. While I am guessing someone like Nichols does everything he can to hide money in different trusts, etc to stay off the list. (Not saying Nichols would be on the list, but just seems opposite of AM and TW (not earth changing news there)).

Hopefully Hamm and CLR will make more of an impact in the community as far as giving goes.

CLR just hit an all-time high and now has a market cap of more than Chesapeake and Sandridge combined. Astounding growth.Actually just over a year ago CLR was just a little higher than it was yesterday or today.
CLR closed at 91.15, up $1.05 +1.17%.
Today’s enter day high which is also a 52 week high was $91.89.


The news which is largely responsible for the recent CLR rise IMHO was posted on a link on post # 46 that I made. This news makes CLR more valuable. With Hamm’s age and possible heath issues this increases the odds of a possible buyout IMHO.
Unlike SD and CHK IMHO CLR is a well-managed company. I would think and certainly hope that this value would be recognized by another company. In the event of a buy out I would hope they would keep most of the work force in OCK for their talents?

Hopefully Hamm and CLR will make more of an impact in the community as far as giving goes.


Prior to anytime Hamm has made a major donation he has sold off enough CLR shares to pretty well cover the cost of the donation. Since this is a matter of public record it’s something to keep an eye out for.
I don’t know if Hamm is an OU or OSU sports fan and if he might be inclined to send any money for sports or academics above what he has already done?

Harold Hamm is going through a divorce which is probably one of the reasons that they pulled back their horns on the Stage Center site.

They are still growing like crazy but he probably wants to wait until the divorce terms are settled, as he's going to lose a lot of his net worth and maybe even shares in Continental.

Actually just over a year ago CLR was just a little higher than it was yesterday or today.
CLR closed at 91.15, up $1.05 +1.17%.
Today’s enter day high which is also a 52 week high was $91.89.


The news which is largely responsible for the recent CLR rise IMHO was posted on a link on post # 46 that I made. This news makes CLR more valuable. With Hamm’s age and possible heath issues this increases the odds of a possible buyout IMHO.
Unlike SD and CHK IMHO CLR is a well-managed company. I would think and certainly hope that this value would be recognized by another company. In the event of a buy out I would hope they would keep most of the work force in OCK for their talents?

Interesting - I hear the opposite, that CLR is more likely to be be taken private since Hamm already owns something like 2/3rds or so of the company. :headscrat

Why would they now be bought out? I don't understand how that makes them any more likely now.

Why would they now be bought out? I don't understand how that makes them any more likely now.

The majors have a tendency to like a higher degree of certainty ….
This new development somewhat increases the degree of certainty in my humble opinion.

Interesting - I hear the opposite, that CLR is more likely to be be taken private since Hamm already owns something like 2/3rds or so of the company. :headscratTaking CLR private would still involve a buy-out and at likely a premium price or risk a very serious legal battle from other shareholders.
CLR still has lots of expansion possibilities. They will still need a great deal of working capital to execute their plans.
I could be wrong, but I don’t see CLR going private anytime soon.

Harold Hamm is going through a divorce which is probably one of the reasons that they pulled back their horns on the Stage Center site.

They are still growing like crazy but he probably wants to wait until the divorce terms are settled, as he's going to lose a lot of his net worth and maybe even shares in Continental.

I would bet that after his first divorce that Hamm singed some type of prenuptial arrangement?

Taking CLR private would still involve a buy-out and at likely a premium price or risk a very serious legal battle from other shareholders.
CLR still has lots of expansion possibilities. They will still need a great deal of working capital to execute their plans.
I could be wrong, but I don’t see CLR going private anytime soon.

Fair enough, to be clear the speculation on going private is more in the 2015 time frame, nothing pointing to that possibility being imminent.

I suppose Continental would be a good target for a major wanting a stake in the Bakken, I've heard Whiting's name tossed around as well. we'll see if anything happens up there.