Continental 3Q Profit Falls 67 Pct

ENID, Okla. (AP) — Continental Resources Inc. said Thursday its quarterly profit tumbled 67 percent, driven by sharply lower crude oil and natural gas prices compared with the prior-year period.

But the independent oil and gas producer plans to raise spending on capital projects and ramp up drilling now that it expects to rebound off the difficult third quarter.

The period was defined by stabilizing oil prices between $59 per barrel and $74 per barrel, but these levels remained far below levels from a year ago when oil traded as high as $147.27 per barrel.

Natural-gas prices nearly reached $14 per 1,000 cubic feet in the third quarter of last year. In the third quarter of 2009, prices ranged between $2.50 and $5 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Quarterly earnings fell to $34.9 million, or 21 cents per share, compared with $105.3 million, or 62 cents per share during the same period last year.

Excluding special charges, the company's adjusted net income amounted to 26 cents per share.