TMCnet News

Oklahoma poised to surpass California, Alaska in oil production, Continental Resources CEO says [The Oklahoman, Oklahoma City]
[September 19, 2014]

Oklahoma poised to surpass California, Alaska in oil production, Continental Resources CEO says [The Oklahoman, Oklahoma City]


(Daily Oklahoman (Oklahoma City) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Sept. 19--Continental Resources Inc. seemingly knows how to keep a secret.

The Oklahoma City-based oil producer on Thursday unveiled a new oil play that it has been developing for nearly two years.

Western Oklahoma's Springer Shale is in the heart of the South Central Oklahoma Oil Province, or SCOOP, Continental's last big discovery.

Company officials detailed the oil-rich formation Wednesday for about 200 analysts and investors at the Skirvin Hilton.

CEO Harold Hamm said the Springer and other new Oklahoma oil plays will elevate the state as an oil producer.

He said Oklahoma is on track to surpass California and Alaska to become the nation's third-largest oil producer.

"That's something I don't think people even thought about a few years ago," Hamm said.

Will Parker, a senior exploration geologist at Continental, said the company's leading position in the SCOOP allowed it to capitalize on its new discovery, which is in a shallower layer of shale.

A nice surprise Parker said Continental completed its first Springer well early last year.



The results, more than 2,000 barrels of oil a day, sparked celebrations at the company's Oklahoma City headquarters.

"We were going from office to office and high-fiving people," he said.


Continental drilled another exploratory well about 25 miles away to delineate the play, then another near the original well to confirm the discovery.

"At that time, we knew we had another layer to the SCOOP," Parker said.

Continental halted its operations at that time to amass more acreage in the nascent play. It resumed drilling in the second quarter, with 118,000 net acres in its portfolio.

Parker said Continental has completed 11 Springer wells so far, but kept its operations there quiet for 20 months.

___ (c)2014 The Oklahoman Visit The Oklahoman at www.newsok.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]