[12] The company pioneered the development of the Bakken oil field in North Dakota and Montana using horizontally drilled wells and hydraulic fracturing.

"[18] Forbes featured him on its cover in May 2014, publishing the story "Harold Hamm: The Billionaire Oilman Fueling America's Recovery.

"[19] Shortly after being named energy advisor to Republican Mitt Romney's presidential campaign in March 2012, Hamm donated $985,000 to the pro-Romney super PAC Restore Our Future.

[21] In January 2016, Hamm claimed that Saudi Arabia was unsuccessfully attempting to "flood the crude market at a time of oversupply.

"[22] OPEC, joined now by Russia, forming OPEC+, ceded the contest, making its first production cut since the financial crisis of 2008, in a bow to the demonstrated price resilience of U.S. shale producers.

[25] In the 2016 United States presidential election, Republican candidate Donald Trump considered appointing Hamm as energy secretary.

[29] Journalist Emily Atkin observes that Hamm organized most of the fossil fuel industry fundraisers for the Trump campaign.

[12] Hamm is a member of the Global Leadership Council at the Offutt School of Business of Concordia College, Moorhead, MN.

[33] On February 1, 2022, the Harold Hamm Foundation and Continental Resources announced a $12 million gift to the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota, to establish the Hamm School of Engineering and endow a "Continental Resources | Monsignor James Shea Chair of Engineering" at the private, Catholic university.

It is believed to be the largest philanthropic single gift given to education in the region of western North Dakota and eastern Montana, the footprint of the Bakken formation.