“If You Don’t Have A Giant Oilfield, Find One” Featuring Harold Hamm, Founder of Continental and Author of “Game Changer”

It was our honor today to welcome Harold Hamm, Executive Chairman and Founder of Continental Resources, on the date of the official debut of his new book entitled "Game Changer: Our Fifty-Year Mission to Secure America’s Energy Independence." Harold is an acclaimed and veteran wildcatter, an American Patriot, an advisor to four Presidents on American energy policy, a visionary entrepreneur, and a loyal Oklahoman. He has made sizable contributions to the industry while also leading nonprofit efforts in health, education, and energy industry advocacy. "Game Changer" sheds light on the energy industry’s history, challenges, and potential solutions for securing America’s energy independence and prosperity. We were incredibly thankful to have the good fortune of visiting with Harold on this exciting day – the official release date for "Game Changer." His is a uniquely American story, as it takes us from his time as a five-year-old boy who lived in rural Oklahoma without power to being Executive Chairman of one of America’s leading oil and gas companies. This book is a reminder of what can only happen in America.

As you will hear in today’s episode, we covered a broad range of topics. Harold first shares his inspiration for writing the book and how his childhood sparked his interest in the oil industry. We touch on his experiences in the 1970s and the energy policies and challenges faced by the US in that decade, the importance of adopting effective and balanced energy programs in Washington, and the changing attitudes of environmentalists towards using oil from certain regions along with the need for education to address misunderstandings about energy sources. Harold shares his insights on going public and then back to private with Continental and the benefits of being a private company, including longer-term planning and reduced pressure from quarterly reports. We also cover the significance of natural gas in reducing emissions, the challenge and necessity of lifting the ban on the export of American oil, Continental’s progress in carbon capture technology, building a company culture that is fun and focused, what it means to run on "Hamm-time," and more.

Apart from his contributions to the energy sector, Harold’s philanthropic pursuits are equally significant, and we discuss his efforts to bring down the cost of insulin and prescription drugs. In his support for education, the Harold Hamm Foundation, together with Continental Resources, established the Hamm Institute for American Energy at Oklahoma State University, serving as the nation’s premier institute for security, innovation and growth for all forms of energy. We are struck by Harold’s ability to tackle challenging or impossible missions (what you’ll hear as the "culture of the possible") and turn them into successes. We are immensely grateful for the time he shared with us today.

Mike Bradley kicked us off by highlighting that this week would be a very heavy week of earnings, with roughly 35% of the S&P 500 companies reporting, and to expect some trading volatility. He also flagged that this week was a light week for economic stats and that the bond market has temporarily bought into a US soft landing scenario, which has pushed the 10-year yield above 4 percent. Also, with Harold Hamm being today’s guest and a key proponent of an alternative to the WTI crude oil contract, we highlight the American Gulf Coast crude oil contract that he has advocated, which is trading at ~$82.50/bbl. and ~$1.25/bbl. premium to WTI. Mike rounded out the discussion by noting this also would be a heavy reporting week for the energy sector, particularly US & Canadian E&Ps, Midstream and Refiners. Arjun Murti built on Mike’s comments with two key themes that oil demand has not peaked and is still growing, especially with global demand growth from countries like India and continents like Africa, and that despite a recent oil price correction, the sector is still generating reasonable returns on capital, indicating the industry’s profitability is improving and might continue to do so in the long term.

We hope you enjoy the discussion as much as we did and are inspired to add "Game Changer" to your reading list!