4 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28, 2010 Sprin00l Tappin' the Bakken SIDNEY HERALD
continental Resources believes in giving back to community
BY DENIECE SCHWAB
SIDNEY HERALD
Continental Resources is a crude-oil
concentrated independent oil and natural
gas exploration and production company
with operations in Rocky Mountain, Mid-
Continent and Gulf Coast regions of the
United States. The company focuses its
operations in large new and developing
resource plays where horizontal drilling,
advanced fracture stimulation and en-
hanced recovery technologies provide the
means to economically develop and pro-
duce oil and natural gas reserves from un-
conventional formations. In Sidney, Con-
tinental Resources is active in the Rich-
!and County Bakken field and has to date,
45 full-time employees.
But did you know Continental Re-
sources Inc. gives back to the communi-
ties in which it has area offices in the
Bakken field? Through the local food
banks and also area schools, Continental
Resources is giving back to the communi-
ty.
Last year, the Schlumberger Company,
based in Williston, N.D., gave in a round
about way Schlumberger is a vendor of
Continental Resources, and every year it
gives Christmas goodies such as meat and
cheese tra-ys to those it does business
with. The company asked Continental if
it would like to give up the goodie trays so
that a lump sum may be given to area food
banks, which is just what Continental did.
"We opted to give up the goodies in or-
der to help out the food bank," Russell
Atkins, area supervisor for Continental
Resources, said. "Fivehundred dollars is
a lot of canned goods. That was a nice lit-
fie deal. A different deal than what we've
ever done before."
Another way Continental has taken
care of the community is by supporting
local schools, providing backpacks filled
with supplies to elementary students in
Richland County and McKenzie County's
East Fairview School.
"Supporting youth and education in our
community has been a priority for Conti-
nental Resources," Atkins said. "Serving
as an active member of the community
where we operate is an important value of
our company. We have been here six
years, and we look forward to providing
civic leadership for a long time to come."
Continental Resources will also provide
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Russell Alkins, area supervisor for Conti'
nental Resources, left, makes a backpack
donation to Sidney Superintendent of
Schools Daniel Farr.
students in North Dakota with at least 800
Filled backpacks, along with continuing
its mission for Richland County's stu-
dents for the 2010-2011 school year. "We do
impact the area," Atkins said. "We bring
jobs and hopefully, a good place to work.
These jobs bring a lot of money in the
area. These employees do their shopping
here in Sidney, or in our basin. That in
turn helps us all."
Continental Resources, as most compa-
nies in the industry, pay attention to edu-
cation in academics such as math and sci-
ences. If you're in the industry, it's most
likely that some of what the job entails is
numbers and working with math/science.
"We're competing with Pakistan, China
and Japan. Those guys are good," Atkins
said. "I work with them. This company
wants to see to it that we take care of our
future employees- our students. Corpo-
rate guidance covers what our area of-
fices do - we give back."
Giving also means donating to the Cros-
by Hospital, as Continental Resources is
working on right now. Sometimes a com-
pany doesn't have time to get a man
shipped or another family member to a
different hospital miles away "We've got
to make sure we've got a good medical
team for our communities, which in-
cludes Crosby, as it flows right through
our heavy traffic area (Bakken play) in
the industry," Atkins said.
If you work in this industry you may
not see a state line anymore, as it's a daily
commute to different sites. Atkins is one
that doesn't really see a border between
states (Montana/North Dakota) anymore,
and he says, "We have to take care of our
own, and our industry is throughout east-
ern Montana and much of western North
Dakota. I'm proud of Montana. I was born
and raised in Cut Bank, but the company
I work with covers this entire area."
Continental Resources has 13 rigs in
place at this time, 19 rigs in place by June
2010, and as a company, Atkin says, "It's
good that we give back. We employ the lo-
cals, which includes 45 employees in the
Bakken play We've been in Sidney for six
years now and that's not bad, considering
we started out with a pickup and one full-
time employee."
As long as Continental Resources is
hard at work, the communities it reaches
will also reap the rewards. For more infor-
mation about Continental Resources, go
to www.contres.com
denieces@sidneyherald.com
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