Continental Resources, Inc. is an American petroleum and natural gas exploration and production company headquartered in Oklahoma City. The company was founded by Harold Hamm in 1967 at the age of 21 as Shelly Dean Oil Company, originally named for Hamm's two daughters. In 1990, Shelly Dean re-branded itself as Continental Resources. It primarily used hydraulic fracturing and directional drilling to produce from low permeability formations. In May 2007, the company became a public company but in November 2022, the company was acquired by affiliates of Harold Hamm.
History
In 1967, Harold Hamm founded Shelly Dean Oil Co., Continental's predecessor.[1]
In 1990, the company was renamed Continental Resources.[2]
In 1995, the company discovered what was later described as the Cedar Hills Field in North Dakota, the 7th largest onshore field in the lower 48 United States ranked by liquid proved reserves, and was the first to develop it exclusively through precision horizontal drilling.[1]