
Continental Resources entered the Powder River Basin in March 2021 with the acquisition of acreage held by Samson Resources. (Source: Hart Energy)
Continental Resources has added about 85,000 net acres in the Powder River Basin through a “follow up” deal, CEO William Berry said in an exclusive interview.
“We now have approximately 215,000 acres that we've ended up with in the Powder River,” Berry told Oil and Gas Investor.
He did not disclose the purchase price. The deal was closed in November.
Continental entered the Powder River Basin in March 2021 with the acquisition of acreage held by Samson Resources LLC. Continental paid about $215 million for the condensate-rich acreage.
The Oklahoma City-based company is also coming off as its high-profile entry into the Permian Basin, which closed in December. Continental paid $3.1 billion to acquire Pioneer Natural Resources Co.’s Delaware Basin assets.
Hear more from William Berry’s exclusive interview with Oil and Gas Investor coming in February.
Continental has discussed spending perhaps $350 million to $375 million, leaving some analysts unclear about the company’s M&A strategy.
Berry said the company is being deliberately opaque about what it’s interested in.
“There’s some clarity and some lack of clarity that is probably beneficial in answering that,” he said. “The strategy part that we have articulated is we’re in some areas where we’re the No. 1 producer in Oklahoma, the number one producer in North Dakota. We think that brings strength to us, capability to us, because we’re transferring operating efficiencies across the basin.
“Clearly that’s something that we focus on to have that kind of materiality. A strategy of materiality is definitely key and you'll see that manifest itself in how we do our business,” he said.
Berry said Continental is focused on geological properties and that it may make acquisitions that surprise people. The company may also build some acreage positions before announcing them, he said.
“You pretty much have to do it that way in this business,” he said. “Like I said, if you show all your cards, you’re at a competitive disadvantage, and we’re pretty good about keeping close to our vest or at least we try to.”
Asked about the results Continental has seen in the basin, Berry said that “the Powder is in early innings. People are still trying to understand it. Again, for competitive reasons, I think the best way to describe our thoughts on this is that it’s consistent with our expectations.”
In Wyoming, Continental’s publicly listed wells have averaged about 6,000 bbl/d of oil, according to the Wyoming Oil & Gas Conservation Commission.

Recommended Reading
Chevron, Halliburton Develop New Feedback Process for Completions in Colorado
2025-06-12 - The technique combines Halliburton’s fracturing platform with Chevron’s subsurface knowledge built into an algorithm to enable decision-making.
Chevron Lummus, Neste Mark Milestone for Renewable Fuels Tech
2025-06-11 - Partners Chevron Lummus Global and Neste aim to create a scalable platform to produce renewable fuel from lignocellulosic raw material, according to a news release.
Produced Water: One Man’s Garbage is Another Man’s Gold
2025-06-10 - It will take time to figure out which solutions to the produced water problem scale up the best. Good legislation is going to be crucial, experts say.
M&A Target BPX Boasts Long-Term Eagle Ford Plans
2025-05-30 - BP’s onshore U.S. shale subsidiary is under the M&A magnifying glass as it boasts ‘great returns’ in fields in South Texas.
SMR Developer Oklo Partners with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power
2025-05-28 - As part of their collaboration, nuclear power companies Oklo and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power plan to cooperate on early-stage project development efforts.
Comments
Add new comment
This conversation is moderated according to Hart Energy community rules. Please read the rules before joining the discussion. If you’re experiencing any technical problems, please contact our customer care team.