Oklahoma City-based Continental Resources reports fourth-quarter profits

Accounting for one-time expenses, Continental recorded an adjusted net income of $1.04 a share in the fourth quarter, up from 88 cents in the year-ago period.

For the full year, the Oklahoma City oil company posted net income of $739 million, or $4.07 a share, up from $429 million, or $2.41 a share, in the previous year.

Full year adjusted earnings were $3.36 per share, up from $2.71 one year ago.

“We completed 2012 with an excellent fourth quarter, and growth momentum continues in 2013,” Harold Hamm, Continental's chairman and CEO, said in a statement. “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.”

Average daily crude oil production surged 42 percent to more than 76,000 barrels per day in the fourth quarter, up from almost 54,000 barrels per day in the year-ago quarter.

Natural gas production increased to 182 million cubic feet per day, up 43 percent from almost 128 million in the fourth quarter of 2011.

In the Bakken play in North Dakota and Montana, Continental drilled 259 gross wells with an average of 21 rigs in 2012, averaging 12 wells per rig for the year. The production was up from an average of seven wells per rig in 2011.