Continental Resources expects its oil output to surge 28% after Permian buy
(Bloomberg) — Continental Resources Inc., the shale exploration giant majority-owned by billionaire Harold Hamm, sees oil production swelling as much as 28% this year as its new Permian assets add to output.
The company that Hamm founded more than 50 years ago expects to pump between 195,000 and 205,000 barrels a day of crude in 2022, well above the 160,647 barrels a day it produced in 2021, it said in an earnings statement. The boost comes after Continental surprised investors three months ago by announcing a $3.25 billion deal to acquire assets in the Permian Basin after a 20-year quest to gain a stake in the world’s biggest shale field.
It said at the time that more could be coming, alluding to attractive assets adjacent to the newly acquired Permian acreage. Analysts will be listening for more on the strategy during Tuesday’s conference call. The company last year also added drilling rights in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin to its portfolio.
The stock price swung between gains and losses after the close of regular trading. The company’s shares were up 29% this year through Monday’s close.
The top explorer in the Bakken shale patch of North Dakota is the first of several large independent operators in the U.S. to report fourth-quarter results this week. The wave of earnings will give investors a better sense of how well explorers are sticking with newfound financial discipline even as crude is forecast to march higher than $100 a barrel. Devon Energy Corp., Pioneer Natural Resources Co. and Marathon Oil Corp. will round out this week’s slate of year-end earnings that are expected to show record profits in the shale patch.
Continental reported fourth-quarter earnings per share excluding one-time items of $1.79, compared with the $1.70 average analysts had been expecting. Continental produced the equivalent of 340,168 barrels of crude in the final three months of the year, higher than the 334,900 barrels analysts had been targeting. Capital expenditures will rise about 47% this year to $2.3 billion. It also boosted its share repurchase program.
