OKLAHOMA CITY, Oct. 17, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Continental Resources, Inc. (NYSE: CLR) (the Company) today announced its first-ever sale of Bakken oil specifically for delivery overseas. The Company has sold 1,005,000 barrels of Bakken crude oil for November delivery to Atlantic Trading and Marketing ("ATMI"), which intends to export the oil to China.
Daily sales transactions of 33,500 barrels per day in November will take place in Cushing, Oklahoma. ATMI then plans to transport the oil for loading on tankers at Texas ports.
"This is a historic day for Continental and begins a new chapter in our long-term strategy to establish multiple international markets for American light sweet oil," said Harold Hamm, Continental's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "This new normal was created by the American shale energy revolution and the lifting of the 1977 crude oil export ban. We expect to see many similar industry transactions in coming months and years."
In December 2015 the U.S. lifted its ban on oil exports, allowing foreign sales to be transacted without a license. Oil exports have grown steadily in the past two years, primarily to foreign refineries configured specifically to process light sweet crude oil. "We recognized back in 2015, when we were working to lift the export ban, that American light sweet oil would be a good fit for these refineries, especially in Europe and Asia," Mr. Hamm said.
"The current $6 discount to Brent should not exist, given the consistency and high quality of WTI, as well as relative shipping costs," he said. "Stabilized U.S. production and increasing industry sales of American crude to international markets will drive down U.S. inventories, correcting much of the recent disparity between Brent and WTI prices. Modern modes of transport in the crude oil sector today eliminate price disparities between markets and allow free markets to work."
He noted that Continental continues to develop additional international markets for its light sweet oil.
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