Continental Resources

Billionaire-founder boosts his original offer made in June to secure the deal.

For Pioneer, the deal marks its return as a pure-play operator in the Midland Basin side of the Permian region. For, Continental, it represents the first steps into the most productive shale play in the US.

US shale operators are cutting deeper, with some eliminating drilling and completions activity altogether.

Hamm, who has served as CEO since founding Continental in 1967, will become executive chairman effective 1 January.

Share prices have plunged for seemingly every major US shale producer, with Concho, Pioneer, and Continental among those receiving the worst of the market’s fury. Have investors completely lost faith in the industry? And are shale executives any more optimistic?

A joint-venture agreement gives Solaris control of Concho’s produced-water infrastructure in New Mexico, and Lagoon Water Solutions closed on a deal with Continental in Oklahoma.

The technical challenges imposed by tight well spacing and fracture interactions have become a focal point of recent earnings calls between investors and the leaders of several shale producers. The picture of the future is becoming clearer, and there are fewer oil wells in it.