The estimated $222 million received from the sale of shale acreage in North Dakota and Montana will help balance the books, Continental Resources said. One of the largest leaseholders in the Bakken shale oil reserve area, Continental said it sold around 80,000 acres in western North Dakota and parts of Montana to an undisclosed buyer. Combined with two other sales of similar nature earlier this year, the company said it’s taken in about $600 million. “We plan to apply proceeds to reduce debt and strengthen our balance sheet,” Chairman and CEO Harold Hamm said in a statement . Continental took a net loss of $119 million in the second quarter, nearly double the loss reported one year ago. In January, the […]