Sep. 5--ENID -- So far, so good for Continental Resources as it continues to work two North Dakota formations in the Bakken field.

On Thursday, officials released initial results from two more completed wells that were drilled into the Bakken's Three Forks/Sanish formation, which underlies the Middle Bakken Shale in the field.

They also released initial results from another well drilled into the Middle Bakken, in the neighborhood of the deeper wells.

Results from the trio of wells provided more data that supports Continental's theory that the two formations are separate zones of oil. If the company is right, that would mean a significant growth in its amount of reserves within the field, officials and analysts have said.

"Production is every bit as good as what we have encountered in the Middle Bakken," said Jack Stark, Continental's senior vice president for exploration. "And if it proves to be separate production, we think it would quantitatively add to our reserves in the field."

Stark said Thursday the belief that each of those formations is separate "still is our theory. Basically, we are drilling these wells to find out if we are correct."

The goal, he said, is to produce from the Three Forks/Sanish without harming production from the Middle Bakken. Continental Resources also announced Thursday it has added another 36,000 acres to its holdings in the field, giving it a total of 577,000 acres there.

"The majority of that -- 32,000, is in Mercer County, North Dakota," he said.

What were the results? Continental Resources officials said one of the Three Forks/Sanish wells flowed at an average rate of 1,001 barrels of crude oil equivalent per day during its initial week of production. Another well produced at an average rate of 196 barrels of oil equivalent per day during its initial week of production. It has a shorter lateral than the other Three Forks/Sanish wells, however.

The Middle Bakken well flowed at an average rate of 692 barrels of oil equivalent per day during its initial week of production. It is in the area of one of the Three Forks/Sanish wells, officials said.

"So, we are building our database in the field to prove our theory," Stark said.

Rig count climbing Stark also said Continental is continuing to increase its rig count in the field. The company has 13 rigs drilling the field today, with 10 of those in North Dakota and the other three in Montana. Two more rigs will be added in North Dakota later this year.

The company also has participating interests in a variety of wells where it is not the operator.

In fact, the company has a stake in about 20 percent of the field's leases, Stark said.

Continental is the largest lease holder in the field and the second-largest producer of oil in the Rocky Mountains, behind only ConocoPhillips.

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