Continental Resources Business Practices

[ljbab728]

A not unexpected fly in the ointment of that decision.

Harold Hamm's ex-wife to appeal $1 billion divorce | NewsOK.com

[catch22]

Seems like the announcement of removing all hedges last week was good. Now that OPEC Has decided to continue drilling despite low oil prices, all shale companies (CLR SD KOG etc.) are getting slammed today. CLR is down 20% today and SandRidge is down 27%. Prolonged oil prices at these levels will be a pretty big blow to the US economy.

[Plutonic Panda]

Harold Hamm's ex-wife to continue appeal despite cashing $974M check | News OK

[Naptown12713]

Houston-based Kinder Morgan Inc. (NYSE: KMI) is making a big buy in the Bakken shale with the planned purchase of Oklahoma-based Hiland Partners:

Kinder Morgan makes $3 billion Bakken acquisition of Hiland Partners - Houston Business Journal

[Pete]

^

That is one of Harold Hamm's companies based in Enid.

A cool $3 billion for Mr. Hamm.

[OUGrad05]

Seems like the announcement of removing all hedges last week was good. Now that OPEC Has decided to continue drilling despite low oil prices, all shale companies (CLR SD KOG etc.) are getting slammed today. CLR is down 20% today and SandRidge is down 27%. Prolonged oil prices at these levels will be a pretty big blow to the US economy.

Removing those hedges was a horrible move. NOT a good call.

[Bellaboo]

Harold Hamm on flashpoint this morning. 1,150 employees for CLR, 250 of those in the Bakken field in North Dakota and Montana. I presume the majority of the remaining 900 are in Oklahoma.

He stated to curb costs they would continue to drill but not complete wells, would also reduce production (and the glut to an extent).

He said that $60 - $70 a barrel oil would return horizontal drilling to profitability.

[ljbab728]

An interesting new interview by Adam Wilmoth with Harold Hamm.

Continental's Harold Hamm sees brighter days coming for the oil industry | NewsOK.com

[mimino]

Oklahoma high court favors Continental CEO Hamm in $1B divorce case - Continental Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CLR) | Seeking Alpha

She "only" got a billion...

[Pete]

This is good news for Hamm and Continental because the ruling basically says that only Hamm can appeal the $1B settlement; his ex-wife waived that right when she cashed the check.

So, there will be no further exposure to Hamm/Continental.

[onthestrip]

This is good news for Hamm and Continental because the ruling basically says that only Hamm can appeal the $1B settlement; his ex-wife waived that right when she cashed the check.

So, there will be no further exposure to Hamm/Continental.

Seems that the deck is stacked against Sue Ann when she cant appeal but Harold still can? Something sounds wrong with that. If she waives her right to appeal when she cashes the check, then it seems Harold should too.

However, I would think that Hamm should let it go. There is probably some judges out there that might think he owes more than the $1bil.

[Bellaboo]

Seems that the deck is stacked against Sue Ann when she cant appeal but Harold still can? Something sounds wrong with that. If she waives her right to appeal when she cashes the check, then it seems Harold should too.

However, I would think that Hamm should let it go. There is probably some judges out there that might think he owes more than the $1bil.

This explains the courts ruling -

Continental CEO's ex-wife loses divorce appeal

Sounds like Harold had better Attorneys than Sue Ann maybe ?

[Pete]

Oil CEO Wanted University Quake Scientists Dismissed: Dean's E-Mail - Bloomberg Business

[Pete]

This editorial says Boren is paid more than $400K per year to serve on the Continental board of directors:

Letter to the editor: Boren's involvement with Continental Resources board should be scrutinized - OUDaily.com: Opinion

[jccouger]

And I was the one scrutinized by saying oil companies are unethical lol

[PhiAlpha]

And I was the one scrutinized by saying oil companies are unethical lol

So becuase one oil company CEO does something unethical, all oil companies are unethical?

[jccouger]

Sandridge and Chesapeake don't mean anything to you? Both had ceos fired for being unethical. That's 3 of the top 4 biggest oil companies in our city that have been led by what appears to be very unethical leadership.

[PhiAlpha]

Sandridge and Chesapeake don't mean anything to you? Both had ceos fired for being unethical. That's 3 of the top 4 biggest oil companies in our city that have been led by what appears to be very unethical leadership.

And there are over 200 other oil companies based in or operating out of OKC and 1 out of 5 jobs in OKC are tied in some way tied to the energy industry. If we're playing odds, that's 3 out of 200 OKC energy companies and 3 out of over 100,000 people that are involved in the energy industry. So again, how do 3 CEOs make the entire energy industry unethical?

[Just the facts]

PhiAlpha - why do you assume the 196 other CEOs are ethical?

[PhiAlpha]

PhiAlpha - why do you assume the 196 other CEOs are ethical?

A) I know several of them personally and/or do work with them.
B) Why do you assume that all of them are unethical? Do you have evidence to the fact that all of them are unethical?

I'm sure some other energy industry CEOs in OKC have done things that are less than ethical, it's a list of 200 people, but that's hardly a phenomenon exclusive to the oil and gas industry. Regardless, the point of my post was that its wrong and unfair to label an entire industry unethical based on the actions of 3 people. What evidence do you have that the "oil and gas industry is unethical?" I run a division of my energy related company in OKC...am I unethical becuase I'm involved in the same industry as Harold Hamm, Tom Ward, and Aubrey McClendon?

[Just the facts]

A) I know several of them personally and/or do work with them.
B) Why do you assume that all of them are unethical? Do you have evidence to the fact that all of them are unethical?

I'm sure some other energy industry CEOs in OKC have done things that are less than ethical, it's a list of 200 people, but that's hardly a phenomenon exclusive to the oil and gas industry. Regardless, the point of my post was that its wrong and unfair to label an entire industry unethical based on the actions of 3 people. What evidence do you have that the "oil and gas industry is unethical?" I run a division of my energy related company in OKC...am I unethical becuase I'm involved in the same industry as Harold Hamm, Tom Ward, and Aubrey McClendon?

I am not saying they are unethical. I assume everyone is a decent individual until I have reason to believe otherwise. However, it seems to me that there are certain industries where 'doing the right thing' is the hard way to the top. Wall Street Finance and Oil & Gas are at the top of that list in my book. Much like the cronyism and incest that exists between Wall Street, the SEC, and Washington DC, that cronyism and incest is alive and well in Oklahoma - as proven by the Harold Hamm emails. I mean come on - not only did he want the current people fired, he wanted to hand pick the replacements - and he is in the Oklahoma Hall of Fame. If there is any silver lining - the Dean at OU didn't act on this request.

[PhiAlpha]

I am not saying they are unethical. I assume everyone is a decent individual until I have reason to believe otherwise. However, it seems to me that there are certain industries where 'doing the right thing' is the hard way to the top. Wall Street Finance and Oil & Gas are at the top of that list in my book. Much like the cronyism and incest that exists between Wall Street, the SEC, and Washington DC, that cronyism and incest is alive and well in Oklahoma - as proven by the Harold Hamm emails. I mean come on - not only did he want the current people fired, he wanted to hand pick the replacements - and he is in the Oklahoma Hall of Fame. If there is any silver lining - the Dean at OU didn't act on this request.

All of that may or may not be true, but that wasn't my argument. I took issue with JC's blanket characterization of the energy industry as unethical based on the actions of the CEOs of three companies out of the thousands of companies in the industry and hundreds of thousands of people that work in it. I never defended what Harold Hamm did nor did I say there were not unethical people in the industry. There are unethical CEOs and unethical employees in every industry, but that does not make every industry or every company or employee in every industry unethical.

As far as cronyism goes, no doubt it is alive, but I would make the argument that it isn't that well based on the fact that David Boren and the Dean at OU didn't act on Hamm's request. The key is that he wanted the people fired...but it did not happen.

[dankrutka]

Honest question as I don't know enough about the industry to throw stones, but what about seemingly the entire industry's refusal to admit the obvious connections between fracking and earthquakes? It seemed almost no one in the industry was willing to honestly investigate/admit a serious public safety risk because it might risk profits... Just now it seems the industry is admitting what scientists have long been saying. No?

Again, I'm an outsider with limited knowledge, but that would seem to indicate a serious ethical problem within the industry?

[PhiAlpha]

Honest question as I don't know enough about the industry to throw stones, but what about seemingly the entire industry's refusal to admit the obvious connections between fracking and earthquakes? It seemed almost no one in the industry was willing to honestly investigate/admit a serious public safety risk because it might risk profits... Just now it seems the industry is admitting what scientists have long been saying. No?

Again, I'm an outsider with limited knowledge, but that would seem to indicate a serious ethical problem within the industry?

It is water disposal, not hydraulic fracturing that is believed to be responsible for many of he earthquakes. They are completely different processes.

E&P companies have nothing to gain by admitting that their operations may have caused the earthquakes, especially before all of the research has concluded. There is just no benefit to that and it would be a borderline stupid business move to do so. Deciding who should be responsible is the corporation commission's job and that is starting to happen. Every company's operations are not causing them, and up until recently no one was completely sure who's operations were causing them and how/why they were causing them. As more and more of the results from the multitude of studies come to light, as they have over the last few months, you will start seeing more companies having to take responsibility for them (at least from an operational stand point). It is already happening now as companies like New Dominion and others are being forced to plug, plug back, or reduce disposal pressures on many of their disposal wells. For the most part operators are being cooperative in the research, but I wouldn't ever expect the companies themselves to openly admit that they're disposal wells played a roll in causing any of the earthquakes, it just opens them up to far too much legal risk. Could be wrong but I just don't see the upside to it.

[zookeeper]

All of that may or may not be true, but that wasn't my argument. I took issue with JC's blanket characterization of the energy industry as unethical based on the actions of the CEOs of three companies out of the thousands of companies in the industry and hundreds of thousands of people that work in it. I never defended what Harold Hamm did nor did I say there were not unethical people in the industry. There are unethical CEOs and unethical employees in every industry, but that does not make every industry or every company or employee in every industry unethical.

As far as cronyism goes, no doubt it is alive, but I would make the argument that it isn't that well based on the fact that David Boren and the Dean at OU didn't act on Hamm's request. The key is that he wanted the people fired...but it did not happen.

Everyone a few years out of college knows everything and has all the answers. That's part of "growing up" if you will. But you take this phenomenon to new heights. You don't have to have an answer for every negative post about the energy industry, Phi.

Some of us have decades (too many) of experience watching how the Oil & Gas moguls have an entitlement mind in this state, and how they usually get their way. This stuff with Harold Hamm just goes to show - again - that millionaires and billionaires expect their money to influence decisions they have no business being involved in. From Robert S. Kerr on we have seen this in Oklahoma. Hamm's comment that he's going to contact Mary Fallin about having OU stripped of its position as host of the OGS is typical tycoon tyranny.