Bakken Shale - CLR Continental Resources Update - Three Forks - Williams County, Divide County

This morning, Continental Resources ( CLR ), the biggest operator in North Dakota's Bakken Shale is out with an operational update and news on their Bakken Shale progress:

Continental Resources, Inc. (CLR) today announced initial production results for four wells that it recently completed in the northern portion of its North Dakota Bakken acreage, including its fifth well targeting the Three Forks/Sanish (TFS) formation.

The Omar 1-1H (41% WI) in Williams Co. flowed at an average rate of 1,126 barrels of crude oil equivalent per day (boepd) from the TFS formation during its seven-day production period test. The Omar 1-1H was drilled as a single lateral on 1,280-acre spacing.

Also in the northern portion of Continental's North Dakota acreage, the Company completed three wells targeting the Middle Bakken zone. The Company completed the Bliss 1-16H (54% WI) in Divide Co., the Skar 1-21H (54% WI) in Divide Co., and the Overlee 1-30H (54% WI) in Burke Co. for average rates of 476, 394 and 198 boepd respectively in their seven-day production period tests. The three wells were completed as single laterals on 1,280-acre spacing.
Continental is operating 10 rigs in the North Dakota Bakken play at this time, with six of those targeting the Three Forks/Sanish formation, which typically lies 50-to-125 feet below the Middle Bakken zone across the Company's North Dakota acreage.

"These four new completions further validate the productive potential of the northern part of our Bakken acreage," said Harold Hamm, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "We are in the process of completing three more TFS wells in this area at this time. Data from these will add to our understanding of the TFS potential in Burke, Divide and Williams counties."

Continental Resources is a crude-oil concentrated, independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company with operations in the Rocky Mountain, Mid-Continent and Gulf Coast regions of the United States. The Company focuses its operations in large new and developing resource plays where horizontal drilling, advanced fracture stimulation and enhanced recovery technologies provide the means to economically develop and produce oil and natural gas reserves from unconventional formations.

CLR is also active in the Haynesville Shale in Louisiana.