OREANDA-NEWS. Continental Resources' output rose by 27pc in 2015 despite a reduction in spending, pointing to the resilience of the US shale industry.

Output rose to 221,715 b/d of oil equivalent (boe/d) from 174,189 boe/d a year earlier. Production in February is expected to be 225,000 boe/d.

"Our teams did an outstanding job in 2015 adjusting to market changes and working to align capital expenditures with cash flow," chief executive Harold Hamm said in a statement. "For 2016, we will remain patient and disciplined in our activities."

The key Bakken producer announced in January a capex cut of 66pc to $920mn in a bid to conserve funds until an expected crude price recovery later this year. Continental joined a host of other independents, such as ConocoPhillips, Hess and Chesapeake, who have announced similar steep cuts for a second year amid the prolonged oil market weakness.

But the sharply reduced spending plan will lower output going forward, to an average 200,000 boe/d for 2016, with first quarter output ranging between 210,000-220,000 boe/d, declining to 180,000-190,000 boe/d by the fourth quarter.

Fourth quarter output fell to 224,900 boe/d, down slightly from the third quarter level of 228,278 boe/d, but up 16pc from a year earlier. Of the total, 65pc was oil, at 145,600 b/d. Output in the Bakken in North Dakota rose to 125,583 boe/d from 115,137 boe/d a year earlier, and to 124,503 boe/d for the full year from 100,050 boe/d a year earlier.

The company lowered drilling costs in the Bakken by 33pc in the fourth quarter from a year earlier. In 2016, the Bakken drilling program will focus on its "high rate of return" areas in McKenzie and Mountrail counties. But the company will defer most Bakken completions in 2016, increasing its inventory of drilled but uncompleted (DUC) wells to 195 by the end of 2016 from 135 gross DUC a year earlier.

Output in the South Central Oklahoma Oil Province (SCOOP) increased 60pc from a year earlier to 64,500 boe/d in the fourth quarter, representing 29pc of the company's total output from 21pc a year earlier.

Continental posted a loss of $139.7mn in the fourth quarter compared with a profit of $114mn a year earlier. For 2015, the independent posted a loss of $353.7mn versus a profit of $977mn a year earlier.