NEW YORK, Dec. 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Continental Resources, a U.S.-based independent exploration and production company, snagged top honors at tonight's 15(th) annual Platts Global Energy Awards, the industry's most recognized awards program. Besting an impressive list of finalists, the Oklahoma-based company left the stage with both "Energy Company" and "CEO" of the year titles.

Nearly 500 energy industry executives from 19 countries attended the black-tie gala emceed by CNBC television anchor Amanda Drury at the Waldorf Astoria in midtown Manhattan. The Awards, described as the "Oscars" of energy, included 18 performance categories which honored outstanding achievement in leadership, innovation, stewardship and entrepreneurship.

"Tonight's winners exemplify stories that have dominated headlines - shale leading the growth in U.S. natural gas and oil production, Asia remaining dominant as the energy demand engine, and solar staking a greater claim to the resource mix," said Larry Neal, president of Platts, a leading global energy and commodities information provider and host of the Awards. "We congratulate Harold Hamm for Continental's impressive dual win and applaud each of this year's winners and finalists for their contributions to the world's energy future."

In its selection of CEO of the Year, the independent judges panel was impressed by Continental Resource chief Harold Hamm's foresight, boldness in experimentation, and deployment of cutting-edge technology. With these traits as drivers, Hamm steered the company to a first-mover advantage in the Bakken shale play of North Dakota and Montana, enabling it to amass a commanding acreage position in one of the largest contiguous oil fields discovered worldwide in more than 40 years.

The Oklahoma-based, 46-year-old oil and gas company also received the highly-sought Energy Company of the Year, an award winner chosen by the judges from the entire list of finalist companies rather than a group of nominees. For this award, judges looked for all-around excellence in execution of a total energy strategy that focused on resource diversity, breadth of portfolio, and technological innovation, as well as concern for the environment, care for the consumer and commitment to sustainability. Judges said Continental Resources was a standout by those measures and applauded the company's operating efficiencies, its plan to triple production and proven reserves within five years, while also optimizing takeaway capacity to reach key markets.

This year's winners of the Platts Global Energy Awards -- five individuals and 15 companies -- hailed from eight countries and three continents and were chosen from more than 200 nominations by the judges panel. Neither Platts nor its sponsors played any role in the selection of winners.

For 2013's Lifetime Achievement recognition, judges selected not one, but three individuals, noting that each one's body of work demonstrates exemplary vision and industry-altering leadership, but within diverse industry spheres:

    --  Jim Rogers, retiring chairman, president and CEO of Duke Energy, the
        largest U.S. electric power holding company with more than $110 billion
        in total assets. Describing Rogers as a visionary, pioneer, and champion
        of market deregulation, emissions trading and nuclear power, judges
        pointed to his long career of "firsts," which put Rogers at the
        forefront of industry change. Read more (http://bit.ly/lifetime2013).
    --  Michael Peevey, president of U.S. California Public Utilities Commission
        (CPUC), a regulator of privately owned electric, natural gas,
        telecommunications, water, railroad, rail transit, and passenger
        transportation companies. Judges said energy efficiency wasn't just an
        admirable concept to Peevey, but a hallmark of his initiatives,
        including implementation of one of the most ambitious, solar-inclusive,
        renewable programs in the United States. Read more
        (http://bit.ly/lifetime2013).
    --  Bipin Vora, engineer, inventor and 39-year veteran of UOP LLC, a
        Honeywell Company and top international supplier and licensor for the
        petroleum refining, processing and major manufacturing industries. 
        Judges said Vora changed the industry from the ground up with his R&D
        triumphs, including nearly 300 patents worldwide for products valued at
        more than $10 billion annually that support environmentally-friendly
        petrochemical processes. Read more (http://bit.ly/lifetime2013).

Individual performance was also heralded in the Rising Star category. South African Sheldon Kimber, chief operating officer of clean-energy company Recurrent Energy of San Francisco, was bestowed "Rising Star - Individual Award" for 2013. Thirty-five-year-old Kimber, in less than seven years, helped Recurrent transition from a small-scale rooftop solar energy developer with 12 employees to an industry-leading, utility-scale developer with more than 125 employees worldwide and one of the largest solar development portfolios in North America.

China's CNOOC Limited took center stage in mergers and acquisitions, winning Deal of the Year, for its 2013-completed $15.1 billion purchase of Canada's Nexen Inc., China's biggest overseas energy acquisition. Judges heralded the deal's scope, openness of negotiations, and its integration of two entirely different corporate cultures, saying it will likely push CNOOC into the world's top 10 energy companies by 2014 and change geopolitics.

Twenty recipients were named at the Platts Global Energy Awards, which recognized leadership by energy sector, premier projects, resource and community stewardship, innovative and green technologies, and top deals.

The winners of the 2013 Platts Global Energy Awards:

STRATEGIC VISION AWARDS

Energy Company of the Year
Continental Resources

Chief Executive Officer
Continental Resources' Harold Hamm

Deal of the Year
CNOOC Limited

Lifetime Achievement
Michael Peevey, California Public Utilities Commission
Jim Rogers, Duke Energy
Bipin Vora, UOP LLC, a Honeywell Company

Rising Star - Individual
Sheldon Kimber, Recurrent Energy

Rising Star - Company
Nodal Exchange

INDUSTRY LEADERSHIP AWARDS

Electricity Generation
Korea Southern Power Ltd. (KOSPO)

Exploration & Production
Anadarko Petroleum Corporation

Grid Optimization
Bonneville Power Administration

Midstream
Puma Energy

PREMIER PROJECT AWARDS

Construction
GAIL (INDIA) LIMITED

Engineering
Hatch Ltd. & Hatch Mott MacDonald

STEWARDSHIP AWARDS

Corporate Social Responsibility
Manila Electric Company

Energy Efficiency Program - Commercial End-User
IBM

Energy Efficiency Program - Energy Supplier
Constellation, an Exelon Company

Green Energy Supplier
First Solar, Inc.

LEADING TECHNOLOGIES AWARDS

Commercial Application
Caterpillar Inc.
Meta Downhole Ltd.

Sustainable Innovation
LanzaTech

Full information on the winners and judges' rationale can be found in the December Platts Insight Magazine, on the Platts Global Energy Awards website or via the Platts Global Energy Awards media kit.

Preceding the awards ceremony was the seventh annual Platts Global Energy Outlook Forum, which featured discussions and panel debates of such topics as the U.S. energy boom and international implications; the evolution of fuel choices by global region; and the emphasis on midstream and downstream industries amid ongoing advances in renewable energy and extraction technologies. U.S. Energy Secretary Dr. Ernest Moniz keynoted the Forum, where "finalists" in the Global Energy Awards competition received accolades for contributions to the energy industry.

Sponsors of the Platts Global Energy Awards and reception were Mercer, a global human resource consulting leader and subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies, and GlobalView, a leading provider of energy and commodity and market data solutions, respectively.

Next year's Platts Global Energy Awards and events will be held December 11, 2014 in New York City. Platts will hold a related Awards event, its second annual Platts Global Metals Awards program in May 2014 in London.

About Platts: Founded in 1909, Platts is a leading global provider of energy, petrochemicals, metals and agriculture information and a premier source of benchmark prices for the physical and futures markets. Platts' news, pricing, analytics, commentary and conferences help customers make better-informed trading and business decisions and help the markets operate with greater transparency and efficiency. A division of McGraw Hill Financial (NYSE: MHFI), Platts is headquartered in New York with approximately 900 employees in more than 15 offices worldwide. Customers in more than 150 countries benefit from Platts' coverage of the biofuels, carbon emissions, coal, electricity, oil, natural gas, metals, nuclear power, petrochemical, shipping and sugar markets. Additional information is available at http://www.platts.com.

SOURCE Platts

SOURCE: Platts