Continental Resources strengthened its position in North Dakota by winning the right to drill on an additional 160 acres located near the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.
Continental’s Harold Hamm spent 2.3 million for the privilege at a state land auction last Friday, beating out the competition in the last 30 seconds of bidding. The funds from this sale are earmarked for educational uses around the state.
Low oil prices have caused companies to reduce spending for 2015 and order to wait out the pricing situation including EOG, Occidental Petroleum and ConocoPhillips.
Even as Continental announced it would slash its budget by 48%, CEO Harold Hamm remained publicly optimistic about his company's ability to navigate the rough waters.
“Hamm commented that “We concluded 2014 with a strong fourth quarter performance, capping off another year of exceptional production and proved reserves growth (...) We believe that our momentum coming out of 2014 will allow us to grow our production 16% to 20% this year.”
The Bakken continues to be the backbone of Continental’s operations. The company is the largest acreage holder in the Bakken and the second largest oil producer in the region. In February, Continental announced that Bakken production was up 30% over last year and overall output was expected to jump 20% for 2015.