Harold Hamm, the chief executive of the oil driller Continental Resources who is embroiled in a bitter divorce, offered to pay his former wife $974.8 million, but she rejected a handwritten check delivered to her legal team, his lawyer said Tuesday.

Hamm's offer to pay ex-wife Sue Ann Arnall immediately the full cash value of what he owes based on a November divorce ruling by an Oklahoma County judge was rejected, Hamm's lawyer, Michael Burrage, said in an emailed statement.

"Ms. Arnall, through her counsel, stated that they were rejecting the ... payment because Ms. Arnall did not want to risk the dismissal of her appeal by acceptance of the benefits," Burrage wrote.

Sue Ann Arnall and Harold Hamm. REUTERS Both Arnall, who was formerly Sue Ann Hamm and resumed using her birth name after the divorce, and Hamm have appealed the November divorce judgment. Appeals are set to be heard by the Oklahoma Supreme Court, Reuters reported earlier.

Arnall, a former Continental executive who was married to Hamm for 26 years, contends that her award of about $1 billion in cash and assets was inadequate and allowed Hamm to keep the lion's share of a fortune her lawyers valued as high as $18 billion.

Harold Hamm had already paid his former wife more than $20 million during the divorce proceedings.

Hamm's appeal contends that the $1 billion award was too steep. Hamm has lost billions tied to the value of his 68% stake in Continental in recent months, which his legal team blames on the sharp fall in oil prices.

(Reporting By Joshua Schneyer; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

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