Continental Resources has filed a lawsuit accusing Hess Corporation of fraud, claiming the company overcharged for midstream services and caused losses of up to $69 million. The lawsuit, filed in a Houston court, alleges Hess inflated service prices through deals with its own subsidiaries.
According to Reuters, the dispute involves oil wells in North Dakota where Continental holds non-operating interests. Continental claims it received significantly less revenue from those wells than expected because of inflated midstream fees charged by Hess.
“Hess Corp has transferred value from its upstream assets to its midstream assets rather than operate with the best interests of non-operating working interest owners in mind,” the lawsuit states.
The complaint names two Hess subsidiaries—Hess Bakken Investments and Hess Midstream—as key players in the scheme. Hess Bakken operates 483 wells in the Williston Basin, while Hess Midstream provides transportation and processing services mainly in North Dakota’s Bakken and Three Forks formations.
Continental argues that Hess’s ownership in both the upstream and midstream entities allowed it to set prices that unfairly benefited itself at the expense of partners like Continental. The alleged financial damage ranges from $34 million to $69 million.
The lawsuit comes as Hess is in the middle of a $53 billion takeover deal by Chevron, announced in 2023. That deal has faced delays due to a separate legal dispute. ExxonMobil has challenged the transaction, claiming it has the right of first refusal for Hess’s stake in their joint venture in Guyana’s Stabroek Block. This stake is seen as a major reason Chevron wants to acquire Hess, and a ruling in Exxon’s favor could derail the acquisition.
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