* Big shout out to Marcellus EF! which helped drive Chesapeake out of the area!
Cross Posted from NPR
The nation’s second-largest natural gas producer, Chesapeake Energy Corp., is trying to reassure investors it can rein in costs and cover a budget shortfall.
According to Reuters, the company will market acreage in the Marcellus region, in order to focus more on its core drilling operations in Texas:
Investors took control of the Chesapeake board in June. Reining in spending is now a top priority for the company, which faces a gap of about $4 billion this year between its expected cash flow and capital expenditures.
To help cover that shortfall, Chesapeake has pledged to sell up to $7 billion in oil and gas properties this year. So far, it has closed or signed deals totaling $1.5 billion, Dixon said, adding that there has been good interest in some of the company’s smaller asset packages.
Chesapeake has appointed a new interim CEO, Steve Dixon, to lead the company while it searches for a permanent replacement.
The company’s previous CEO, Aubrey McClendon, stepped down April 1. He is being formally investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission for a controversial financial perk that allowed him to personally invest in the company’s oil and gas wells.
StateImpact reporters in Texas, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania teamed up to explain more about Chesapeake’s financial troubles and McClendon’s controversial role at the company last spring.
