HOUSTON (Reuters) -U.S. shale producer Continental Resources has dropped a lawsuit it filed against rival Hess Corp in May, which alleged it was defrauded out of up to $69 million through a series of deals the well operator conducted with its subsidiaries.

Continental said that Hess, which operates hundreds of wells in North Dakota, artificially inflated midstream service fees by entering into agreements with its own subsidiaries.

Continental, Hess and Chevron, which closed its acquisition of Hess last week, did not respond to requests for comment.