Test results boost Continental's stock

By Jack Money

Published: May 21, 2008

ENID — Continental Resources' stock shot up by 23 percent Tuesday after company officials reported initial results from another completed well in the Bakken Shale.

The Bice 1-29H, completed in the Three Forks/Spanish formation in North Dakota, produced nearly 700 barrels of oil a day during its first week of operation, officials said. The significance of Tuesday's announcement, they added, is that the well penetrated a lower shale formation within the North Dakota field.

Harold Hamm, chairman and chief executive of the company, said the theory is that the formation — part of the lower Bakken — is not affected by existing production from shallower shale layers.

And in North Dakota, leases obtained by companies are not limited by depth. Consequently, Tuesday's announcement could herald a significant find, Hamm said Tuesday.

"This thing could be totally separate from the upper zones where we and other companies already have been completing wells,” Hamm said. "The first indications look good. We will have to test and see if in fact that's the case.”

Analysts liked what they heard.

Jefferies & Co. analyst Subash Chandra raised his price target on the stock to $65 from $40 Tuesday, calling the strong drilling results "a potential game changer.” He noted the results were 50 percent better than the average production of other area wells.

The rise in Continental's stock on Tuesday was stunning, posting a one-day gain of 23 percent, from a $51.06 closing Monday to one of $62.84 on Tuesday.

The company's market cap jumped from $8.85 billion Monday to $10.55 billion Tuesday. And the value of the stock owned by Hamm in the company jumped from about $6.3 billion Monday to about $7.7 billion Tuesday.

Continental already is excited about its presence in the field, even without Tuesday's news. Earlier this year, the company announced it would increase its capital expenditures budget from a planned $616 million to $783 million, with most of the added money going into the Bakken Shale field.

Officials have estimated the field's total reserves for Continental at 98 million barrels of oil.

Hamm said Tuesday other companies have the same theory as Continental when it comes to the lower Bakken. He said the lower Bakken cuts through most of the leases the company has within the field.

In September, Forbes magazine listed George Kaiser as the richest man in Oklahoma, worth $11 billion,with his holdings in oil and gas and banking. Hamm was the second-richest Oklahoman on the list at the time, worth $3.2 billion. Lynn Schusterman was third, with $2.5 billion in oil and gas.

Aubrey McClendon, worth $2.1 billion, tied with Tom Ward, also worth about the same, were tied for fourth, both with backgrounds in natural gas exploration and development. David Green, worth $1.8 billion, came in next.

Contributing: The Associated Press

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