Continental Resources Business Practices

[ou48A]

This is more great growth news for CLR which will likely mean a larger OKC CLR employment base in the years to come.

Continental Resources, Inc. (CLR): Barclays: Continental Resources' growth advantage sustainable for years - Seeking Alpha


Barclays: Continental Resources' growth advantage sustainable for years

Continental Resources (CLR -0.3%) is initiated with an Overweight rating and $138 target price at Barclays, which believes Continental Resources, Inc. (CLR): Barclays: Continental Resources' growth advantage sustainable for years.

The firm forecasts growth rates of ~20% annually beyond 2015 vs. a peer-group average of 5%-10%, but despite premium growth, CLR shares trade at a modest 9% premium on 2015 and 20%-plus discount on 2018 estimates.

[fromdust]

Click for map
Operations | Continental Resources

I've done work for them here in the woodford play.

[ou48A]

Harold Hamm CNBC video interview


There's no oil glut in the US: Hamm - CNBC

[Pete]

BTW, I heard that some business affiliated with Harold Hamm -- not necessarily Continental as there are some other ancillary companies -- is moving into the Express Personnel building way out on NW Expressway.

Express actually has two buildings out there and has never occupied the north one, and that's where this business is going to locate.

That building is pretty darn big -- 62,000 square feet. It's located between Council and County Line on the south side of NW Ex.

[jbkrems]

No, People's Church is buying some of those buildings. They are moving into the Express Events Center next year.

[ou48A]

News about the Southern Central Oklahoma Oil Province, or SCOOP


This really stood out to me. This is huge for CLR and to the other companies.
This will also put billions in to the states economy.

“Continental believes the 330,000 net acres it operates in the area will produce 1.8 billion barrels. To put that into perspective, that's equal to more than half of the oil recovered in 100 years of conventional drilling in Oklahoma”.....
…..”In total, the company estimates SCOOP could hold 70 billion barrels of oil in place.”

Click for full story
Could This Oil Field Be the Next Bakken?

[PhiAlpha]

News about the Southern Central Oklahoma Oil Province, or SCOOP


This really stood out to me. This is huge for CLR and to the other companies.
This will also put billions in to the states economy.



Click for full story
Could This Oil Field Be the Next Bakken?

That's insane...I don't know how they've done it, but almost everything they touch turns out to be an awesome play, good for Continental and great for Southern Oklahoma.

[Bellaboo]

Excellent ! maybe they'll grow even faster than previously thought.

[ou48A]

That's insane...I don't know how they've done it, but almost everything they touch turns out to be an awesome play, good for Continental and great for Southern Oklahoma.

I'm in the camp that believes that CLR is very good at what they do and among the very best in the business.
Harold Hamm has a great track record and usually makes great decisions. I have had knowledge of his operations since the late 80's He gives us an example of how a great education can be trumped by possessing a great amount of common sense in the business world.

Over the years this play will put many billions into the pockets of Oklahoma’s, which is always great news.

[PhiAlpha]

I'm in the camp that believes that CLR is very good at what they do and among the very best in the business.
Harold Hamm has a great track record and usually makes great decisions. I have had knowledge of his operations since the late 80's He gives us an example of how a great education can be trumped by possessing a great amount of common sense in the business world.

Over the years this play will put many billions into the pockets of Oklahoma’s, which is always great news.

I agree.

[mkjeeves]

News about the Southern Central Oklahoma Oil Province, or SCOOP

This really stood out to me. This is huge for CLR and to the other companies.
This will also put billions in to the states economy.

Click for full story
Could This Oil Field Be the Next Bakken?

Let's hope the estimates aren't overblown! I own some mineral interest in NW Grady county, but currently leased to Cimarrex who is also drilling the area.

[ou48A]

Let's hope the estimates aren't overblown! I own some mineral interest in NW Grady county, but currently leased to Cimarrex who is also drilling the area.

So far, CLR has a good reputation and good track record for their accurate estimates.
Even if its off 20% that's still great news.

GLTA

[ou48A]

*Continental Resources, a U.S.-based independent exploration and production company, snagged top honors at tonight's 15th annual Platts Global Energy Awards, the industry's most recognized awards program.

Besting an impressive list of finalists, the Oklahoma-based company left the stage with both "Energy Company" and "CEO" of the year titles.

Nearly 500 energy industry executives from 19 countries attended the black-tie gala emceed by CNBC television anchor Amanda Drury at the Waldorf Astoria in midtown Manhattan. The Awards, described as the "Oscars" of energy, included 18 performance categories which honored outstanding achievement in leadership, innovation, stewardship and entrepreneurship.

"Tonight's winners exemplify stories that have dominated headlines – shale leading the growth in U.S. natural gas and oil production, Asia remaining dominant as the energy demand engine, and solar staking a greater claim to the resource mix," said Larry Neal, president of Platts, a leading global energy and commodities information provider and host of the Awards. "We congratulate Harold Hamm for Continental's impressive dual win and applaud each of this year's winners and finalists for their contributions to the world's energy future."

In its selection of CEO of the Year, the independent judges panel was impressed by Continental Resource chief Harold Hamm's foresight, boldness in experimentation, and deployment of cutting-edge technology.* With these traits as drivers, Hamm steered the company to a first-mover advantage in the Bakken shale play of North Dakota and Montana, enabling it to amass a commanding acreage position in one of the largest contiguous oil fields discovered worldwide in more than 40 years. *

The Oklahoma-based, 46-year-old oil and gas company also received the highly-sought Energy Company of the Year, an award winner chosen by the judges from the entire list of finalist companies rather than a group of nominees. For this award, judges looked for all-around excellence in execution of a total energy strategy that focused on resource diversity, breadth of portfolio, and technological innovation, as well as concern for the environment, care for the consumer and commitment to sustainability. *Judges said Continental Resources was a standout by those measures and applauded the company's operating efficiencies, its plan to triple production and proven reserves within five years, while also optimizing takeaway capacity to reach key markets.

Continental Resources Snags Twin Win: 'Company' & 'CEO' of 2013 at Platts... -- NEW YORK, Dec. 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

[Pete]

The whole Harold Hamm divorce thing seems to have died down and I had heard from a friend of the Hamm family that it was completely off, but I'm sad to say that I heard something quite different this weekend.

A good friend is using the same divorce attorney that is representing either Hamm or his wife, and said it is very much still in progress.

[Jeepnokc]

According to OSCN, preliminary witness and exhibit lists were filed last week and there was a status conference. Trial is set for July 1, 2014.

OCIS Case Summary for FD-2012-2048- Sue Ann Hamm v. Harold Hamm (Oklahoma County District Courts)

[Pete]

Well, back to all the speculation about what this will mean for CLR.

Pretty important issue, for sure.

[blangtang]

I have been wondering about our Bakken friends up north. Its funny how the media likes to do those "boom town" stories when the weather is nice...

-----

@ContinentalOil says it hasn't shut down any #Bakken oil rigs due to #PolarVortex, but that some well completions temporarily halted $CLR

[ou48A]

Hamm won't have to give up Continental stake in divorce

Billionaire Harold Hamm will not have to give up his controlling stake in Continental Resources as part of a divorce settlement with his wife, Sue Ann, a judge presiding over the case said, according to Forbes.
The 122 million shares of Continental that Hamm owned prior to his marriage are considered "pre-marital" assets that will not be divided

[PhiAlpha]

Hamm won't have to give up Continental stake in divorce

Billionaire Harold Hamm will not have to give up his controlling stake in Continental Resources as part of a divorce settlement with his wife, Sue Ann, a judge presiding over the case said, according to Forbes.
The 122 million shares of Continental that Hamm owned prior to his marriage are considered "pre-marital" assets that will not be divided

Well that's some excellent news for OKC. I guess not as much for Sue Ann, but I'm sure she'll be well taken care of.

[Pete]

It says he will keep the shares he had before marriage but they haven't decided about those he acquired afterwards.

Research says there are about 185 million shares outstanding and that Hamm owns 68% of those, or 126 million shares.

Since he already owned 122 million before, looks like no matter what he'll hold onto almost all his CLR ownership.

[shawnw]

Night before last Hamm was on Mad Money and Jim Cramer was pretty ga-ga over Hamm and Continental in general.

[Pete]

Divorce May Weaken Oilman's Stake in Drilling Powerhouse
Harold Hamm Has Led Continental Resources for Decades

By TOM FOWLER CONNECT
March 21, 2014 2:45 p.m. ET


Oil wildcatter Harold Hamm spent decades at the helm of Continental Resources Inc. CLR +0.72% as it became the most powerful company in North Dakota's Bakken Shale.

But because of a quirk in Oklahoma divorce law, the success of the tiny oil-patch outfit he founded in 1967, which became a drilling powerhouse, may work against him as he splits from his wife of 25 years—and may even weaken his control of the company.

The judge overseeing the couple's divorce in Oklahoma City, where the company is based, deemed most of Mr. Hamm's 68% stake in Continental—122 million shares out of the 126 million he owns—as his premarital property. That means those shares, worth more than $14.6 billion, aren't directly subject to division with Sue Ann Hamm, a former lawyer for Continental who married Mr. Hamm in 1988.

But in Oklahoma and a handful of other states, splitting up marital assets isn't that simple.

State law gives Mrs. Hamm the right to half of the increase in value of Mr. Hamm's premarital shares if she can prove the company's stock price rose over the course of their marriage because of her husband's efforts.

Between Continental's May 2007 initial public offering and the Hamms' May 2012 divorce filing, the company's shares rose more than 400%, giving Mr. Hamm's stock a $6.9-billion-dollar boost. So Mrs. Hamm could be eligible for roughly $3.45 billion, and maybe more if the court decides that increases in the company's value predate its stock market debut.

Neither Mr. nor Mrs. Hamm would comment, according to their lawyers, but court filings show Mrs. Hamm is fighting for what could be billions of dollars.

L. Vance Brown, who was appointed by the court to help resolve disputes over discovery in the divorce case, said in court filings that from Mrs. Hamm's perspective, every action Mr. Hamm took while at the helm of Continental, including "time, effort, skills or funds were critical to the enhancement of value" of the company.

To guard his fortune, Mr. Hamm, will need to rebut that theory, said Scott Johnson, a lawyer in Tulsa, Okla., who specializes in family law but isn't involved in the Hamms' dispute.

As chairman and chief executive of Continental, Mr. Hamm may be able to shield his stock gains if he successfully argues factors beyond his control—like high oil prices—are responsible for the company's spectacular returns, according to Mr. Johnson.

"If something increases in value just due to the broader market, then it's not divisible," Mr. Johnson said. "But if a company grew because he chose to buy other leases, made business decisions that were key to its success, then yes, the court might be inclined to say he should split the value."

In court filings, Mr. Hamm disputes Mrs. Hamm's assertions and says she must prove she also contributed to the increased value of the company in order to lay claim to a share of it.

Continental spokeswoman Kristin Miskovsky said the case, which is slated to go to trial in July, is a private matter that hasn't had any impact or effect on the company's operations.

But that is not what Continental is contending in court filings. Mrs. Hamm's legal team has ordered the company to produce more than 600,000 pages of documents as proof that Mr. Hamm's leadership, hiring and decision-making have directly resulted in Continental's stellar financial performance. The company recently reported a 21% profit margin for 2013, earning $764 million on sales of $3.6 billion.

Continental said the requests for years' worth of paperwork and preparing dozens of workers and company directors for depositions caused "enormous disruptions and expense," according to court documents.

If Mr. Hamm loses his case, that would probably affect his ownership of Continental shares, analysts say.

"We think that Hamm might end up having to transfer or sell a portion of his shares to pay for a portion of the appreciation over his marriage," analysts with Heikkinen Energy Advisors in Houston said in a recent note to clients.

Even if he sold half his shares or transferred them to Mrs. Hamm, Mr. Hamm would retain roughly 34% ownership of Continental. The current value of a 34% stake is about $7.6 billion.

Some investors might cheer the idea of Mr. Hamm selling shares to raise funds for a divorce payout. Continental has a relatively small amount of publicly available stock—about 42 million shares—compared with other independent oil and gas companies.

In a February deposition excerpted in court filings, Continental director John McNabb said he didn't believe the company would change fundamentally, even if Mr. Hamm's stake dropped significantly, and that the company would find it easy to continue to get financing.

"My assumption is that these banks will be delighted to keep working with Continental," he said. "I don't really care about Oklahoma divorce law."

Write to Tom Fowler at tom.fowler@wsj.com

[bradh]

Women...


(just kidding)

[Teo9969]

He wouldn't need to sell half his shares. But even if he did, having a 34% stake in a public company is only one-step removed from complete control, and every percentage point closer to 50% makes it that much more difficult for external influence on the company, because all that external influence has to have the same vision for change overall…and between 20 different entities, that just isn't going to happen.

[PWitty]

Night before last Hamm was on Mad Money and Jim Cramer was pretty ga-ga over Hamm and Continental in general.

Cramer is a bozo. He was one of CHK and AM's biggest advocates even when they were doing all the wrong things. He is right about Continental though.