Continental Resources Inc., Oklahoma City, will buy the assets of Wheatland Oil Inc., Enid, Okla., which consist of 5% of the interest acquired by Continental Resources in all leases and wells in a defined part of the Bakken play pursuant to a participation agreement effective Jan. 1, 2012.
The purchase price of $340 million is anticipated to result in the issuance of 3.90 million to 4.25 million Continental Resources common shares, subject to customary purchase price adjustments.
Wheatland’s assets include 37,900 net acres in the North Dakota and Montana Bakken play and interests in more than 1,000 gross wells. The assets have net proved reserves of 17 million bbl of oil equivalent as of the end of 2011 and produced 2,500 boe/d in December 2011.
Wheatland is owned 75% by the revocable trust of Harold G. Hamm, of which Harold Hamm is sole trustee and beneficiary, and 25% by Jeff Hume. Hamm is chairman, chief executive officer, and majority shareholder of Continental Resources, and Hume is its president and chief operating officer.
Alan Petzet is Chief Editor-Exploration of Oil & Gas Journal in Houston. He is editor of the Weekly E&D Newsletter, emailed to OGJ subscribers, and a regular contributor to the OGJ Online subscriber website.
Petzet joined OGJ in 1981 after 13 years in the Tulsa World business-oil department. He was named OGJ Exploration Editor in 1990. A native of Tulsa, he has a BA in journalism from the University of Tulsa.
