Continental Resources, Inc. is a
petroleum
Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude ...
and
natural gas
Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon di ...
exploration and production company headquartered in
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, an ...
.
[ The company was founded by Harold Hamm in 1967 at the age of 21 as Shelly Dean Oil Company, originally named for Hamm's two daughters. In 1990, Shelly Dean re-branded itself as Continental Resources. It primarily used ]hydraulic fracturing
Fracking (also known as hydraulic fracturing, hydrofracturing, or hydrofracking) is a well stimulation technique involving the fracturing of bedrock formations by a pressurized liquid. The process involves the high-pressure injection of "frack ...
and directional drilling
Directional drilling (or slant drilling) is the practice of drilling non-vertical bores. It can be broken down into four main groups: oilfield directional drilling, utility installation directional drilling, directional boring (horizontal di ...
to produce from low permeability formations.
The company's assets are primarily in the Bakken formation
The Bakken Formation () is a rock unit from the Late Devonian to Early Mississippian age occupying about of the subsurface of the Williston Basin, underlying parts of Montana, North Dakota, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The formation was init ...
in North Dakota and Montana, the STACK and SCOOP plays in Oklahoma, and the Permian Basin.[ In 2021, total production was per day, of which 49% was ]petroleum
Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude ...
and 51% was natural gas
Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon di ...
.[
It is ranked 818th on the ]Fortune 500
The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by '' Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along ...
.
History
In 1967, Harold Hamm founded Shelly Dean Oil Co., Continental's predecessor.
In 1990, the company was renamed Continental Resources.
In 1995, the company discovered what was later described as the Cedar Hills Field in North Dakota, the 7th largest onshore field in the lower 48 United States ranked by liquid proved reserves, and was the first to develop it exclusively through precision horizontal drilling.[
In 2003, the company drilled its first wells in the ]Bakken formation
The Bakken Formation () is a rock unit from the Late Devonian to Early Mississippian age occupying about of the subsurface of the Williston Basin, underlying parts of Montana, North Dakota, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The formation was init ...
.
In 2004, the company completed the Robert Heuer 1-17R in Divide County, the 1st commercially successful well in the North Dakota Bakken to be both horizontally drilled and completed using hydraulic fracturing
Fracking (also known as hydraulic fracturing, hydrofracturing, or hydrofracking) is a well stimulation technique involving the fracturing of bedrock formations by a pressurized liquid. The process involves the high-pressure injection of "frack ...
.
In 2007, the company became a public company
A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange (lis ...
via an initial public offering
An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...
in which Harold Hamm sold approximately $300 million worth of his shares.
In 2008, the company was the first to complete a horizontal well in the Three Forks zone.
In 2010, Continental introduced the ECO-Pad® drilling technique, which involves drilling 4 wells from 1 pad. This reduced the cost of drilling and increased production output.
In 2012, the company moved its headquarters from Enid, Oklahoma
Enid ( ) is the ninth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is the county seat of Garfield County. As of the 2020 census, the population was 51,308. Enid was founded during the opening of the Cherokee Outlet in the Land Run of 1893, ...
to Oklahoma City.
In 2016, the company sold assets in North Dakota and Montana for $222 million.
In 2017, the company sold 26,000 acres in the Arkoma Basin for $68 million.
In 2021, the company acquired 92,000 net leasehold acres and 50,000 net royalty acres in the Permian Basin from Pioneer Natural Resources
Pioneer Natural Resources Company is an American company engaged in hydrocarbon exploration headquartered in Irving, Texas. It operates in the Cline Shale, which is part of the Spraberry Trend of the Permian Basin, where the company is the larg ...
for $3.25 billion.
References
External links
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{{Authority control
1967 establishments in Oklahoma
Companies based in Oklahoma City
Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange
Energy companies established in 1967
Natural gas companies of the United States
Non-renewable resource companies established in 1967
Oil companies of the United States
Petroleum in Oklahoma